New Life Ahead
by Hamsterjellyman
Summary: Hiccup finally had the chance to be the Viking he never was. But he never brought down the knife. Instead, he freed the most notorious dragon ever known in Berk. But what if this one simple act of kindness resulted in Hiccup's life changing in a way he never expected? Hiccup will have to decide if this change is either a punishment or a reward for his actions.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: I finally got the motivation to actually try a HTTYD story by itself. I'm sorry for the months of inactivity. I just lost my interest and motivation for my first story. It will be on hiatus until I figure out where I'm going to go with it.**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

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Chapter 1 - He Who Hesitates...

"I'm gonna kill you dragon," said Hiccup as he raised the knife.

The dragon continued to stare at him with a blank expression, even though it knew that its death would come in just a moment from the hands of this young and underdeveloped Viking.

"I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I am a Viking..." Hiccup took a deep breath and exhaled, "I am a VIKING!" He exclaimed with as much force as he could.

To the Night Fury, it looked like the human was trying to convince himself rather than him. It wouldn't matter though...

Hiccup inhaled and raised his knife as he closed his eyes. Before he brought the knife down however, he spared one last look at the Night Fury... and gasped.

The dragon stared up at him with a glazed look its eyes, as if about to cry. It looked so fragile and helpless; one could have mistaken it for a kicked puppy. The dragon gave a low croon of distress as it laid down its head and closed its eyes, accepting its fate.

The self-proclaimed Viking hesitated as the knife in his hands shook, sweat rolling down his head despite the cold weather surrounding him. He grit his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to muster up the courage to finally kill the dragon that terrified his village for years.

"**Come on**!" his inner voice said, "**Killing this thing will finally put you in with the rest of the crowd. No more neglect, no more insult, and no more being the world's biggest screw-up in the history of Vikings. You can finally be ONE OF THEM**!" He raised the knife...

"I can't do it." the boy sighed.

He let down the knife and looked at the dragon with pity.

"I did this..." he said as he turned to walk away. But his conscience would not let him simply walk away from the fact that this dragon would eventually die from starvation, or from the very unlikely possibility that some other Viking would come across this now-downed dragon.

He sighed once more.

The dragon's eyes snapped open as it heard the rough scraping of knife against rope. It felt the constricting force around it becoming loose to the point where it felt nonexistent.

As the boy cut the last rope, the dragon leapt up immediately to all fours and pushed Hiccup against the rock, the young Viking breathing in and out in short, hurried gasps.

The dragon assessed the boy's face closely with its eyes, the dark slits surrounded by the shiny green outline. Its glare pierced the boys own eyes, eyes that looked up at the dragon with no other emotion than that of fear.

The dragon continued to stare down at the boy with hatred, but after a few moments, its rage-filled countenance softened, the sharp slits becoming that of a round innocence, similar to that of a dog's.

Hiccup's fear eventually gave way to confusion as the dragon continued to do nothing, and looked at him with a face that his own father usually wore whenever Hiccup happened to be around causing trouble; that of one not knowing what to do with something... or someONE.

The dragon closed its eyes in frustration, as if not knowing what to do with this one human boy. It trembled in its own indecisiveness, the boy feeling the claws on his chest extending and contracting.

The dragon's eyes opened again, and Hiccup could have sworn the look on its face looked happy. This guess was even more strengthened by the fact that the dragon pulled its 'lips' back to reveal a healthy set of gums, almost as if it was smiling.

Hiccup eyes widened. He never expected that he would ever meet a dragon without seeing the incredibly sharp teeth they normally had. "Toothless?" he asked, "I've always expected that a dragon like you would have had..."

*_Shink_!*

The dragon unsheathed its teeth a meter in front of his face. "Teeth." Hiccup's fear returned instantly and he began to breathe heavily again as the dragon slowly brought its head down near the crevice between his shoulder and neck.

Hiccup desperately tried to plead to the dragon as its sharp teeth surrounded his left shoulder.

"No! Wait! Please don't-!"

The dragon bit down hard on his neck and shoulder, and Hiccup let out a scream of horror and agony as he thrashed about, his legs kicking out from the under the dragon hitting nothing but air.

His arms pounded against the dragon forelegs in an attempt to get the Night Fury off his frame, but the young, muscle less Viking could not gather any strength even as he cried out for the gods! His father! Gobber! Anyone to help him!

Nevertheless, the dragon continued biting down, but did just that. It did not move, attempt to tear out the boys arm, or even try to stop the severe thrashing that the human was in the middle of.

Hiccups eyes began to tear up as the reality of his situation began to sink in. He was going to die, by the hands of the creature that he let go. He sobbed, thinking about his village, his father, his mother...

The dragons own eyes creased in sadness, knowing that the human probably thought that this would be his last day alive. In a way, the dragon thought, it was...

As Hiccup began to slow down in his screaming and thrashing, he realized that the dragon was just sitting there on the top of him. The teeth still burned in his shoulder, but it was no longer as severe as it was before.

Hiccups sobs dissolved away into confusion, his wet, bloodshot eyes looking down at his now blood-ridden shirt while the dragon remained still like the rock his head was currently pushed up against.

After several moments, the dragon finally let go of his shoulder, the boy let out a groan of pain as the now-free shoulder burned with pain. The dragon stepped off him and backed away a few paces before simply sitting back in its haunches and looking at him with a blank, wide-eyed expression.

Hiccup slowly got up, gritting his teeth as he slumped up against the rock while holding his stinging shoulder. He was confused as to why the dragon was now sitting and staring at him like was going to do some sort of trick.

The boy regarded the dragon carefully, and eventually decided that it was now safe for him to try and check his injuries without any further surprises from the dragon, who continued watching him, as immobile as the trees in the forest surrounding him.

As Hiccup proceeded to take off his shirt, he noticed that the pain in his shoulder appeared to have vanished, and instead felt raw and cold, even colder than the winter weather the island was currently in. He looked down at arm, and gasped as he saw that not only had the blood stopped flowing, but the area around the bite wound had become a grey color that began to become darker the more he looked at it.

"What did you do?" Hiccup asked, as he slowly backed away from the dragon.

The Night Fury, noticing the attempt to escape, got down on all fours and, in a few seconds, leapt around the boy and spread its wings, blocking the boy from going any further back to its village. It let out a grumble, gesturing its forearms towards Hiccups wound, and shaking its head.

Hiccup backed away from the dragon, tripping over the rock in the process. As he got up, he noticed that the grey area around his wound was now pitch-black, and felt very stiff, as if he was wearing a strong, sturdy piece of armor. Not only that, but the black skin began to spread down to his arm, his elbow, all the way up to his wrist.

Hiccup looked down at his arm in horror, the slow, steady breath of his chest began to rise and fall erratically as he began to hyperventilate. His gaze could not tear away from his arm, and he lost all feeling in his legs as he desperately began to rub and scratch off the black area on his arm with his right hand. The once thin and soft left arm had suddenly become thick and smooth as he realized that the black area around his shoulder was covered in scales. Scales like that of the creature in front of him...

A Night Fury.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hiccup screamed, realizing why the dragon bit him. "I can't be a dragon! I don't want to be a dragon! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!" He shouted at the creature in front of him.

The Night Fury grumbled in apology, lowering its head in shame, hoping that the boy would understand that this was a gift from his species for sparing his life.

Unfortunately, all Hiccup could think about was the fact that his left hand was becoming encased in the black scales, the short fingernails becoming thicker, longer, sharper. The arm itself was becoming stubbier and gained muscle, even as Hiccup began to claw at it with his other hand.

Hiccup felt a tingling in his left ear, and instinctively used his now clawed hand to scratch at it. He felt a sharp sting of pain at the claws drew blood from the side of his head, but was even more distracted by the fact that his ear was longer, blacker, and that his other ear was beginning to tingle as well.

"CHANGE ME BACK!" he shouted. "I never asked to be a dragon! What are you gaining from this anyhow! I have a life! You can't take that from me! Change me ba-AAAUUUK!" Hiccup fell to his knees and hand and claw and began to cough violently as his vocal cords and his lungs began to rearrange. He clutched at his throat as the scales began to make their way around his neck.

The Night Fury creased his brow as he realized that the boy was transforming WAY too slowly. While he knew that this transformation was painless, it was preferable to get it over with so that the boy would not die from the conflicting organ differences in his body. He approached even as the boy's coughing descended into wheezing and screeching.

The dragon quickly took the boys other hand and bit down hard enough to draw blood. Hiccup, still recovering from the coughing fit, let out a high-pitched screech and immediately withdrew his hand toward his now black chest. He instinctively let out a growl of anger and pain before he shook his head and began to cry once again. Only instead of sobbing, his now dragonified lungs produced whimpers and slow, desperate wheezing.

Hiccup lifted his head toward the dragon and attempted to speak once more, "WRrrrRryyyYy RrrrrrRRRRRrrr OouuuoooOou GgoooOOOUUuuiiiIIINNNnnng THMMMMIiiiiiiiSSSSSsssssssss ?" He managed to say this despite the fact that his teeth were beginning to reform and retract uncontrollably into his gums.

His right hand however, was beginning to look like his left arm even as he tried to use the claws to scrape of the scales growing up on his skin. Eventually, both arms became the strong, durable, and heavily muscled forearms of a Night Fury.

Hiccup screeched. His voice was now long gone and his chest was hard and thick from the scales that continued spreading down to his legs. His head however, began to lose hair rapidly as the scales surrounded his face, the clumps of brown hair falling off and littering the grass floor of the forest. His lips became hard and smooth, and his nose began to extend from his face, at least a foot in length. After the process was over, the hybrid between human and Night Fury let out a pained roar of despair and misery for the loss of his humanity.

The Night Fury, having been circling Hiccup the whole time, began to nervously approach Hiccup from the side and used its claws to rip into Hiccup's back. Hiccup let out a whimper of pain as he curled up and continued crying, not even bothering to yell or beg the Night Fury to stop, considering that he no longer had a voice box anyway.

The gashes in Hiccup's back began to extend outwardly as they grew, becoming longer and wider as they grew out like a pair of limbs extending from a spider. The skin in between the finger-like appendages that extended from the back began to connect to one another to create a web of skin that was suitable for flying in harsh heavy winds. After the wings were done, Hiccup curled them in to make himself feel smaller despite the fact that he was now the size of the average Viking.

A tearing sound resounded through the Night Furies ears as a long and healthy tail grew out of the boy's spine above his rear end. The tail lengthened and grew out two flaps of skin on the tip of the tail that looked similar to the dragon's own and miraculously undamaged tail-wings. The tail waved around for a few seconds before curling in between the boys legs.

The boy's pants ripped and tore as the girth of the once-human began to gain mass and muscle, the boy's feet becoming shorter, the toenails became thicker and sharper, and the boy's lower half finally became the haunches of a Night Fury.

The Night Fury sat up and regarded the now human-turned-dragon. He seemed healthy enough despite the injuries required, but was still curled up in a ball, letting out heartbreaking whimpers and moans as his eyes let loose tears of loss and hopelessness.

The dragon sighed. He didn't mean to hurt the boy physically and psychologically, but after checking the boy's heart, he found that the boy was devoid of any genuine hate or malice towards him and any other dragons in general. He was a pure-hearted soul with a heart of gold, and longed for attention from people who had given him nothing but ridicule, neglect, and pain. Even his own father was not very supportive, to the point where he shot down the most feared of all dragons and the stupid humans STILL considered him an outcast.

The dragon felt bad for the boy, and figured the only way for him to show the boy his gratitude was to not only spare his life, but grant him the form of a Night Fury to represent his inner strength and purity.

The Night Fury slowly approached the miserable dragon and began to nuzzle him on his head, taking the time to get the torn articles of human clothing off the new dragon. He wouldn't need them anymore.

At the same time however, Hiccup slowly looked up at the Night Fury and crooned unhappily. His humanity was gone, he wanted it back, but he somehow knew that this Night Fury would not grant that request, even if he could voice it. He couldn't go back to the village, the Vikings would kill him in an instant, and he could no longer tell them anything because he could no longer speak.

"**I don't think they would take kindly to a talking dragon either**." said a male voice that was smooth and comforting.

Hiccup jumped to his feet... and immediately fell onto his arms. He looked around for the source of the voice as he backed away from the Night Fury.

"**Don't be frightened**." Said the voice, as the newly formed dragon looked all around the forest desperately.

Hiccup stiffened, and looked at where he now knew the voice came from; the Night Fury.

"**It can talk**!" he thought.

"**I can**." He heard.

Hiccup backed away into a tree as the dragon approached him.

"**Stay away**!" He cried. The dragon looked intently into his eyes, and Hiccup looked away in fear of what it was going to do to him.

"**I will not harm you**." the dragon replied. It sat back on its haunches as it again regarded Hiccup, even as the former human looked at it in disbelief.

"**What do you mean? I shot you down**..."

"**And yet you let me go**," the dragon said, "**Why is that**?"

Hiccup stared blankly, before letting out a sigh, shuffling his hand-turned-paws. "**I can't kill a dragon**."

The dragon's head tilted. "**Can't or won't**?"

Hiccup looked back up, his face furious. "**Why is this so important to you! You didn't need to change me at all! You've taken away my family, friends, and my whole life! And the worst part is, I'm not even DEAD**!" he growled and hissed at the Night Fury, even though it continued to watch him with a passive expression on its face.

"**I've lost everything because of you! I mean, what more can you take away from me**!" Hiccup screeched.

The dragon brought its claw up to Hiccup's forehead. "**Your mind**." It said unemotionally.

Hiccup's anger immediately dispelled and was replaced with fear. "**WH-what**?"

The dragon lowered its claw. "**If I had gone all the way with your change, I would have erased all your memories of your time as a human, leaving you as a new, healthy, and instinct-driven Night Fury to continue my species**."

Hiccup blanched, and crawled even further into the tree, making him seem even smaller than before. He whimpered, "**Pl-please, don't**-"

The Night Fury lowered its head and backed away. "**I won't, nor will I ever do so to you, as long as I live, that I promise you**."

Hiccup did a double-take and stared at the Night Fury, not knowing what to think so far. On one hand...err...paw he was glad this dragon was letting him keep his memories, but on the other paw he was confused about why the dragon did this to him and why it didn't seem to want to reset his mind.

The dragon sighed, "**I changed you because you earned it Hiccup**."

Hiccup nearly freaked out over the fact that his thing knew his name, but then remembered that this thing was reading his mind and could basically do whatever it wanted to him, so he wisely decided not to test its patience.

"**You are a good being, Hiccup Haddock**," the Night Fury said, "**you have suffered from insult, neglect, and pain from your people all your life, even your own father**."

Hiccup lowered in head as he remembered all the failures that happened to him that the village simply would not let him forget. The ear flaps on his head dropped down, clearly revealing his emotional state.

"**And yet, you constantly try to earn respect by trying to create something new and helpful to your people**." Hiccup looked up at the Night Fury again, this time with a tearful expression.

"**So? What about it**?" Hiccup asked in what he hoped was a neutral tone. Unfortunately, the dragon was able to tell that the human's 'voice' was beginning to break from the pent-up misery of his life. The dragon also noted that the former human's green eyes were changing to that of a typical Night Fury's, but decided to avoid mentioning it, as it wouldn't help with this situation.

"**You finally had the chance to 'prove yourself', so to say..." the Night Fury said, "and yet, you let me go. So now, I ask you; after all you were taught, after all you have suffered, after all you have gone through to earn their respect...**" the Night Fury approached Hiccup until their eyes were simply a foot away from one another, the former human's eyes now brimmed with tears while the dragon gazed into him with inquisitiveness and pity.

"**Why would you let me go**?"

Hiccup did not answer for several minutes, just staring down at his paws. The dragon let him sort his thoughts out while it patiently sat on its haunches.

"**I couldn't kill you...**" the new dragon replied, "**because you looked as frightened as I was**."

The Night Fury tilted its head in confusion.

Hiccup continued even as his voice began to crack, "**I looked at you, and I saw myself**." That was all the human could say before he slumped to the ground and slowly continued to cry, only it was not for the loss of his humanity, but for the years and years of failed attempts of fitting in with the people of Berk. He thought of constant teasing, bullying, neglect, and worst of all, the fact that the only person who genuinely cared for him all his life was his mother, who died when he was only 6 years old. Even the most-feared dragon in all of Berk was showing more compassion to him than anyone he had known in Berk, besides Gobber.

The Night Fury watched with a pitiful expression. He knew that this was a lot for the human to go through, especially considering the fact that the human was no longer able to be with his own kind. His transformation was irreversible, and he no longer had any place to go.

The former human cried way into the afternoon, and eventually fell asleep. The Night Fury spread his wings and flew out towards the nearest scent of water, found a lake within a cove, and proceeded to grab some fish for both himself and the newly-formed dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: Thank you all for the reviews! This story is a bigger hit than my first one. However, I would like to point out that this isn't really following the established facts from the movie. **

**One: there is no queen dragon in this fanfic.**

**Two: the dragons dont really have names in their society. Hence, why I simply refer to 'Toothless' as 'dragon' or 'Night Fury.'**

**That's all for now, but if you have any questions, just PM or leave a review please. I hate leaving plot holes.**

**Sorry for the short chapter. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

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Chapter 2: Questions, Instincts, and Fish.

Hiccup eventually awoke to the smell of something burning, his eyes slowly opening to see a small, comfortable looking fire. He looked up to see that the sun setting, but the sky was still a red-orange color, making him realize he had slept until the evening.

As he groaned, his thoughts turned to the events that had happened beforehand. He turned his head towards the crackling fire, and saw that the Night Fury was tossing his shredded clothes into the fire. Hiccup had an urge to stop the dragon, but realized that the clothes no longer held any meaning to him. He was a dragon now, and the clothes were already burned to ashes. What did catch his attention was the mound of fish in front of his face.

**"Well?"** The Night Fury asked, **"Eat up, we have a long journey ahead of us."**

It took a moment for the implications of this statement to sink into the boy's mind.** "WAIT A MINUTE! I never said that I would go with you! What, you think I'm going to help you with the raids now that I'm stuck like this?"** Hiccup exclaimed as he growled loudly.

The Night Fury looked at Hiccup with a half-lidded expression, clearly tired of the new dragon's complaints.** "I don't think you understand: you are a dragon, that village is full of humans, humans KILL dragons..."** The Night Fury growled as he said this, making Hiccup learn his place as the former human immediately stopped growling and lowered his ears and body in submission.

The Fury, not wanting to scare the human away, took a deep breath and exhaled.** "Earlier, you were wondering why I just didn't bother to erase your mind."**

Hiccup's eyes widened. Was it going to change its mind in that decision?

The dragon rolled his eyes. **"Why would I get rid of one of the few humans I've seen who actually sees us dragons as something other than mindless beasts? Especially after being transformed?"** he asked.

The former human realized that that was a very good point. However, something about the question caught his attention.

"You make it sound like this has happened before." Hiccup pointed out.

The dragon's face deadpanned.** "It has been done before, just not for a REALLY long time. Even then, you probably wouldn't hear of it, because most changed humans react with insult, anger, and violence. They eventually become not only a danger to themselves, but other dragons, giving us no choice but to reset their minds. It's sad really."**

Hiccup's jaw dropped in shock. **"You mean to tell us that you dragons are able to do this to us AT ANY TIME!"** Hiccup thought about this for a minute, his fear-filled face slowly becoming one of confusion. At the same time, he glanced over at the fish pile, his stomach rumbling slightly.

**"Wait a minute..."** Hiccup's eyes narrowed at the dragon.** "If that's so, then how come other Vikings with bite wounds don't change at all?"**

The Night Fury lowered his head in sadness. **"Most humans we come across are usually very formidable. They usually shake off the dragon before our magic can take place. They're not...errrrrr... small and helpless like you."**

It was Hiccup's turn to deadpan in annoyance. Usually, most Vikings would describe him as puny, underdeveloped, weak, and his own personal favorite: talking fishbone.

Classic.

The dragon continued,** "Even then, if a human has enough willpower, they can usually prevent the change from occurring. In your case, I would say that it was simply inevitable considering that from what I sensed in your heart, you do have self-esteem issues."**

Hiccup raised a brow, while subconsciously walking over toward the fish. **"Sense my heart?"** he asked.

The dragon nodded. **"I was confused about why you let me go, so I check your feelings by placing my paw on your chest."** The dragon rumbled as it gave out its own version of a chuckle. **"I must admit, for a minute, I thought that you would be more resistant and repulsive. If your heart was like the majority of the Vikings on this island, it would have felt like a piece of eel was imbedded inside you."**

Hiccup was even more confused; what did eels have to do with any of this?

The dragon quickly gave him an answer. **"Eels are very poisonous to us dragons. They have a repulsive smell and can be deadly if they are eaten. That's why you hardly see a human get eaten alive by a dragon. We just can't stand the taste."** The dragon stuck out his tongue is disgust.

While Hiccup was fascinated by this piece of information, he lowered his head toward the now-irresistible piece of fish. The dragon noticed this and chuckled amusedly. **"Don't choke."** It warned.

This caused Hiccup to realize that he was about to eat RAW fish, and he immediately got up and shook his head. The dragon simply grumbled in laughter and walked towards the fish, grabbing a dead cod in its mouth and devouring it in two bites, licking its lips while staring at Hiccup, who was currently lying on his side gripping his head with both paws.

The former human was struggling between acting like the civilized human being he was before, and the loud growling his stomach was making. The boy had had nothing to eat since the last dragon raid, and as the day was nearly over, his hunger grew so intense that he felt he could devour a whole sheep...which he probably could considering the size of his new body.

Hiccup's sharp teeth suddenly popped into existence as his hunger overcame him. In seconds, he sat up on all fours, headed towards the fish, and proceeded to shove his face directly into the pile. Loud chomping and slurping followed as the boy swallowed the fish whole, only chewing occasionally when necessary.

After he had his fill, the young dragon sat back on his haunches, a look of content on his face. After several moments though, his face dissolved from a look of satisfaction to a look of horror as he realized his face was covered in red, the pile of fish in front of him reduced to pieces of flesh, scales, and body fluids.

Also known as blood.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Hopeless Love and Moonlight

**Author's note: I'm sorry it took so long. I was finishing up this and chapter 4 when they were both deleted by accident. Now I'm very careful about having a back-up.**

**Anyways, another short one for now, but the next chapter is almost done and will probably be longer. I'll probably have it done tomorrow or the day after.**

**Thanks to all those that reviewed! I'd like to thank the author known as Rift-Raft for her excellent story, 'I Hear Him Scream'. It gave me the inspiration to write this.**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

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It took a while for the Night Fury to calm the boy down. The human had put up quite a struggle despite the inexperience with his new dragon body.

The second the boy had realized what he had done to the pile of fish, he did three things: screech in terror, run over to the nearest tree in sight, and proceeded to repeatedly bash his head against it. Lucky for him, the tree was too weak to actually cause any major damage to his thick dragon skull. Not much could be said for the tree, which was now free of the squirrels and birds that had lived there.

The other Night Fury, after getting over the shock from this sudden act of self-mutilation, leapt to his paws and pounced at the human with such force that they tumbled together for several feet before they stopped.

The human had begun to scream obscenities and struggled, desperately trying to free himself from the pinned position he was now in. The Night Fury had to avoid the flailing claws and winced in pain as they scratched at his forearm, which was currently on the human's chest.

The Night Fury, having had enough of this human's complaining, decided to stop this by releasing a full-blown snarl in front of the human's face. THAT had gotten the human's attention immediately, and he looked up in fear at the dragon as its gaze bore into his eyes.

The two dragons remained that way for quite a while. The Night Fury realized that the position they were in was exactly the same as before: standing over human, paw on chest, not really knowing where to go after pinning him down...

After a few moments, the dragon eventually moved off Hiccup and stood off to the side. It sat back on its hind legs as Hiccup slowly raised himself up to all fours, shock plastered all over his face.

**"You know, I think you would have done that whether you were a human or a dragon."** The dragon stated matter-of-factly as it rolled its eyes. **"I think I would have done the same if I was half-starved, so really, I don't know why you are so worked up about it."**

Hiccup did not respond, or give any indication that he had heard the dragon at all. His head was aimed down at his paws, overflowing with worry and fear over the action he had done almost involuntarily.

Why had he done that? Was he losing his mind? Was the Night Fury breaking its promise and slowly erasing his mind, little by little, to the point where it would probably be no better than that of a dog? If his mind was 'reset' as the dragon put it, would he be forced to steal sheep, kill people, and... Continue the species?

Hiccup shuddered as the thought came to mind. He wasn't ready to have babies! He was only sixteen for Thor's sake! Even when he daydreamed about his (now improbable) future with Astrid, he never considered the idea of having a kid. Not that Astrid would ever consider him a love interest. He'd probably have a better chance with a feral female dragon than he would with her.

…

…

…

Hiccup collapsed to his stomach as the irony of that last thought hit him like a hammer to the face. His life was over! He would never be able to be a part of the village now! For the third time that day, Hiccup began to sob, his body curling in on itself as he whimpered silently for his mother.

The fire had now dwindled down to just embers. The sun had completely set and the moonlight streamed down on the island along with the cold winter wind.

The passive expression on the Night Fury's face melted into one of pity. As tired as it was of the humans crying, it just couldn't help but feel bad for him. Especially when it had just read his mind and cringed at all the disturbing thoughts. This boy really had nothing to live for anymore. No home, no parents, not even a mate to care for.

The Night Fury sighed, knowing that what he was going to do next would be as hard for him as it would be on the human.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Mother's Love and Neglection

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. I've been busy lately. I'll try to finish the other chapter as soon as I can. **

**Warning: Slight cursing and out-of-character Hiccup.**

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**"Why do you care about what they think of you?"** The Night Fury asked.

Hiccup's eyes snapped open. His eyes were bloodshot once again, the boy's dragon body lying on his side. His wings had wrapped around him in his grief, as if to seal himself from the reality of his situation.

**"What?"** Hiccup managed to croak, staring at the Night Fury with confusion and sadness. The Fury frowned in pity, knowing that attempting to talk someone out of their former way of life would be hard for himself and tough on the human.

But his options were limited to either that, or completely mind-wiping the human, which he had already promised NOT to do. Only a few humans had ever managed to be spared that fate, and he had no intentions of letting this human become one of the many who were not.

**"Why do you care so much about your village? From what I saw in your mind, almost no one in there really cares for you, besides that human named Gobber."** The dragon knew he had to be very careful about his choice of words. He had to respect the human's past life as something precious and not like a stain that needed to be removed. At the same time, he needed to show the human that this change was not as bad as it seemed.

Hiccup sniffled and took a deep breath before answering, **"Ever since my mother died from a dragon raid, I've been seen as a mistake to the Viking ways simply because of how weak I looked."**

The Night Fury listened intently, nodding to tell the Viking to continue.

**"My whole life I've been told of nothing but my failures, and every time I do fail makes me feel like a disgrace to my mother's memory. Even my Dad became different after her death. He was always caught up in his title as Chief of the village leadership, and we rarely spoke at all, even when we were alone together."** Hiccup let loose a small sob as he lowered his head at the memory of his mother's funeral.

His dad holding him tightly as the village set the funeral pyre for his mother's death. The attack left no trace of her anywhere. All that was found that day was a bloodied breast plate from her armor, so the pyre had to be burnt without a body.

**"I was determined to make my Dad proud of me, by either killing a dragon, or creating something that could help improve our ways of fighting dragons."** Hiccup had calmed down somewhat, taking deep, but short breaths to compose himself.

The Night Fury was impressed. This human was a strong person in many ways. He was determined, resilient, and always willing to help his people despite the fact that most of them could have cared less about the boy or his efforts to help them.

**"Up until today, none of my inventions were successful. They always ended up destroying part of the village and making my dad more upset and disappointed in me. It's like the gods hated me for some reason."** Hiccup gave a low laugh as he used his arms to wipe away the lingering tears on his eyes.

The Night Fury had noticed the extinguished fire at this point and, with a blast of fire from his mouth, set it aflame once again. The human jumped slightly before realizing the action was not hostile, and with a nod from the Night Fury, continued speaking.

**"I finally had the chance this morning! I mean, I still ended up destroying part of the village and letting you guys take most of the sheep, but I managed to shoot down the most feared dragon ever known in Berk!"** Hiccup puffed out his chest in pride, but slowly deflated as he considered the stupidity of his words. The Night Fury couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

**"I expected you to be like what I've been told you dragons are: wild, vicious, completely murderous towards all life." **The Night Fury snorted derisively at this revelation. Did humans really hate them that badly? All they were doing was stealing the sheep the humans needed to survive.

...

Actually, now that the dragon thought of it, that was a pretty legitimate reason to hate dragons altogether. He shook his head and continued listening on without any further distractions.

**"Instead I find a dragon that calmly accepted the fact that a weak Viking like me was going to cut out its heart. No struggle, no attempts to escape, nothing that a complete killing machine would have done."** Hiccup slowly stood on his hind legs, looking at the dragon with a face that was a mix between confusion and fascination.

**"You know, out of all the things that could have happened to me when I freed you, getting turned into a dragon was NOT one of them."** Hiccup signed in resignation, his gaze lowering down to his paws. **"What am I supposed to do now? I can't go back to the village. They would kill me on sight."**

The Night Fury thought about all he had just been told. This boy was one of the most interesting humans he had ever come across. He suffered the loss of his parents both literally and metaphorically, was constantly teased and neglected by his people, was offered the chance to finally earn their respect by killing his first dragon. And yet he STILL took pity on a downed dragon.

After thinking about this for several minutes, he spoke up**. "Well, why don't you come with me?"** The dragon readied himself.

The human's ears perked up at this, his eyes wide with surprise. **"WHAT?"** he exclaimed, shocked that the dragon would even suggest such a thing. Was it mad? Did it think that even after all this; he would instantly turn on his people?

The dragon knew he had to explain himself quickly. **"Just hear me out! You obviously have no other place to go! And think about it! If your people or your dad truly respected you, why hasn't he sent out a search party or something to find you? It's almost the end of the day!"**

Hiccup had opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when the dragon brought up this detail. The Night Fury had a point there.

Most Vikings sent out a search party whenever a Viking went missing from the village; in the event that a dragon had carried a Viking somewhere out in the forests or when a kid happened to get lost. Where were they? He'd been gone for a full day. Surely his dad would have told someone by now. And it didn't take too long to search the island. Why...

...

...

**"I don't think anyone is searching for you Hiccup."** The Night Fury said sadly. He noticed that Hiccup's ears, wings, and tail were now drooping toward the ground.

**"No."** Hiccup shook his head, not wanting to believe such a thing. They weren't that cruel, were they? To not look for someone simply because of their horrible reputation?

**"No, they're coming for me. They just haven't come around yet**." The Night Fury felt that Hiccup was talking more to himself than him.

**"Hiccup..."** The dragon started.

**"THEY'RE COMING!"** Hiccup exclaimed desperately at the Night Fury, hurt and despair clearly indicated in his voice and countenance.

The silence that followed lasted for a while, but yet no one came by. Even with his sensitive ears, Hiccup could not hear any indication that a search party had gone out at all.

Hiccup's face switched from hurt, insulted, angered, confused... there were too many emotions to read. But the Night Fury knew one thing was certain: Out of all the acts of derision that the villagers did, this one was the most damaging to Hiccup.

Both dragons stood there, the Night Fury watching passively as Hiccup struggled with his emotions. The boy was no longer crying, but his whole body was shivering. Whether he was shaking from the sadness and betrayal he was feeling or from the freezing cold of the night was anyone's guess.

**"I never believed they would see me as expendable."** The dragon looked up at the human from the half-asleep state he was in. The human growled as his head hung low, his eyes cast in shadow from the angle of the moonlight.

**"All those years of making inventions, and it counted for nothing but dragon shit."** The Night Fury's eyes widened. It knew that the boy was angry, but the way the he sounded was very different from how he was earlier. It was like all the sadness and nervousness had been replaced with rage.

Hiccup looked up at the dragon, his eyes now pure green with thin, black slits cutting through them. His teeth were bared in what looked like a permanent snarl.** "I've tried all my life to help them, AND YET THEY STILL THINK I'M NOTHING BUT A WALKING DISASTER!"** The dragon fell over from the outburst in surprise as Hiccup reared up on his hind legs, wings flapping and forearms flailing in his anger.

The Night Fury was surprised by this human's change in behavior. He hadn't been trying to make the human be angry at his people. All he'd been really trying to do was ease the boy's losses by having him realize that this change was probably for the better.

Instead, he seemed to have caused Hiccup to have some sort of epiphany about how truly AWFUL his life was for the past sixteen years. All the failures, teasing, and neglect he had covered with laid-back sarcasm had finally cracked open.

And it all accumulated into one VERY pissed off Hiccup.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: For Better or Worse?

**Sorry for the long time it took to update. I've been busy. **

**I know these chapters are short, but I don't have a beta to help me with this story. If anyone would like to volunteer, just PM me. Anyways, on with the story!**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

For the first time in all of his life, the former human named Hiccup experienced a rage so great, it would have humbled any other Viking on the island. That and the fact he was currently a dragon that was both rare and intimidating made his anger a lot more visible.

His wings flapped, his arms flailed, and his roars cut through the night as his paws stamped and clawed at the ground. The Night Fury meanwhile, had gotten back to his feet while looking on at the human with surprise, worry, and pity. Hiccup paid him no mind, focusing all his thoughts on the village he lived in his whole life.

All his life he had tried so hard. And for what?! An acceptance into a community that didn't take him seriously? Instead blowing off his claims that his Bola Launcher shot down one of the greatest and supposedly most dangerous of all dragons?

He thought about all those who had done nothing but make him feel useless since his mother's death: Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, even his imaginary love-interest Astrid was part of the teasing and bullying he had suffered. At this point, those daydreams of them being together were over.

Then there was Fishlegs: it was easy to see why he had stopped being friends with the chief's son. The minute Hiccup had shown how easy he was to make fun of, Fishlegs had started to hang out with him less and less, until eventually he stopped altogether. While he didn't bully Hiccup, he mostly stood off to the side and did nothing to help him, even when Hiccup was on the ground with bruises and urine.

Then Hiccup's thoughts turned toward his father. Ever since his wife died, he had become stricter, made every single conversation one-sided, and even used Hiccup as a motivation to get every Viking to hunt down the dragon's island.

And not in the _'raising one's self-esteem'_ sort of way either. More like the_ 'anyone who stays, will look after Hiccup'_ type of way.

As for Gobber...

...

Hiccup's anger deflated so fast it was almost comical. His claws stopped flailing, his wings drooped, and his body fell down to all fours while his expression of anger slowly became that of shock. The Night Fury was confused at first, but a quick delve into the human's mind told him everything.

The boy had just remembered Gobber, the blacksmith of the village. While Gobber did indeed agree that Hiccup was defenseless, even against other Vikings, he did at least make an effort to help Hiccup feel better about himself. In fact, the man had been more of a father figure than Stoic currently was, and probably ever would have been. He was probably one of the only good experiences Hiccup had ever had during his time as a human.

**"What am I doing?" **Hiccup asked. The Night Fury looked at Hiccup, who was solemnly staring at the fire. **"I can't just reject the whole village simply because they didn't treat me the way I wanted. It's where I grew up, and I can't deny that."**

The Night Fury was now very confused. Wouldn't this human just make up his mind already? It had just gone from angry to passive in the span of a few seconds. Even the most temperamental Monstrous Nightmares didn't have mood swings this quick!

The dragon sat up on his hind legs assessing the human while Hiccup rested his head on his forepaws, wings tucked in and tail curled around his body. The fire crackled and popped as the human thought about what to do now, while the dragon, once again, patiently awaited the humans' next action.

Just as the dragon was about to speak up, the human let out an audible sigh and stood on all fours. He then turned his head towards the Night Fury. **"I'll come with you." **he said.

Out of all the things the dragon had expected to the human to say at the moment, THAT was not one of them. He stared at the human, his mouth dropping open. Was this human really going to go without any hesitation?

Hiccup, sensing the dragon's confusion, explained his decision.** "Where else can I go? I'm a dragon now. I can't go back even if I wanted to. Even if I was a human, I doubt anything would have changed for me there. I would probably be back where I've been for most of my life: trying hard and failing miserably."** The human lowered his head sadly. **"Maybe the village will benefit from my absence. No more accidents, no more slip-ups, no more... (Sniff)...mistake..."** Hiccup began to sob once again, struggling to say his words, **"of a ch-ch-chief's son."**

The boy squinted his eyes shut as they swelled with tears, unable to talk anymore about former home. The Night Fury felt sad as well as impressed by this human. Rather than focus on all his negative experiences in the village, Hiccup had chosen to see more of the positive aspects of this change, even if most of them were not helpful towards Hiccup himself.

But it was a noble action, and that further increased the Night Fury's own reasons for NOT resetting this human's mind. As the human shook with grief, the dragon came and raised its paw to wipe the boy's tears from his face. Hiccup nearly jumped from the contact, but calmly accepted the dragon's act of kindness.

**"I think we should move now."** The dragon used its tail-fins to smother the fire. Both dragons were illuminated once again by the moonlight as their eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.

Hiccup looked up at the dragon, his eyes drying but still red. **"Can we sleep here tonight?"** He asked.

The dragon regarded Hiccup with confusion. Why would he want to stay when he just said he would go with the Night Fury?

Hiccup looked down at his paws. **"It's just...I've spent all my life here, and I want to remember my last day on this island."**

The Night Fury, feeling that this request was reasonable, nodded silently, and then started to walk deeper into the forest. After a moment, he turned his head towards Hiccup, who hadn't budged. **"Come on, let's find a cave. It'll be safer to sleep there than here." **The dragon continued walking.

Hiccup nodded, head, wings, and body lowered in sadness as he followed the dragon.

Both dragons disappeared from the clearing, leaving only the charred remains of human clothing as a reminder of the human who, as of now, ceased to exist from the village of Berk.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Instant Flying Lessons

**Thanks to comander5, who has now agreed to be my Beta reader. And a thank you to all who reviewed so far! **

**It's good to know that this story is getting a lot of attention. I know Hiccup acted really out-of-character in the last chapters, but I guess that really didn't seem to bother anyone.**

**Anyways, I think that this story is basically writing itself by now, so even I don't know when it'll end. Ah well, more fun that way. :)**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

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**Hiccup, it's time to get up."**

The former human's eyes opened slowly, squinting from the sunlight that streamed in from the opening of the cave.

Both dragons had searched for a while around the mountain until they came across a hollow cave. After the Night Fury made sure it was free of any predators, they settled down comfortably and fell asleep almost instantly.

Hiccup sighed and got up to his feet, knowing that this was the day he was leaving Berk forever. He was nervous about what his new life was going to be like, but he hoped that it would at the very least be bearable.

**"Dragon..."** The Night Fury lifted its ears toward Hiccup as it stood near the entrance of the cave. **"I know you mean well, but I just want to ask you something. I think it's kind of important."**

The Fury rolled its eyes. It was feeling like a pushover at this point, but wanted to respect the human's last requests. After all, this human was sacrificing a lot more than he was. The least he could do was answer the human's questions. **"What is it?"**

Hiccup nodded, asking the question that had been on his mind ever since he made his decision. **"How am I supposed to get off this island? I don't know how to fly properly in this body, and I really doubt I'll be able to swim that far."**

The Fury froze. It hadn't really thought about that at all. The events of last night had been on its mind for so long, it didn't think about how the human would be able to follow him back to the Nest. Teaching Hiccup flying lessons would take days at most.

The dragon turned back to Hiccup.**"Hmmm... I know of one way we could do this, but I'll tell you after we get to the Cliffside of this island."**

Hiccup nodded, following the Night Fury as it led him through the forest. However, he couldn't help but think about how uneasy the Night Fury looked when it answered him. Was it nervous about teaching a human how to fly?

He guessed he would figure out when they got there.

After an hour of walking, both dragons made it to the rocky shoreline of Berk. Hiccup nervously looked over the side, watching as the wave crash violently against the rocks that were over a hundred feet down below.

Hiccup paled at the deadly drop. Heck, even the dragon looked nervous, and it hadn't even looked at the cliff!

**"So, uh, what was that 'one way' you mentioned? Because I really hope that it works. Otherwise…Da da da I'm screwed."** Hiccup asked.

However, the dragon became increasingly nervous the more Hiccup looked at him. In fact, he was looking away as if he was regretting something that he did... Or WAS about to do.

The dragon gazed at Hiccup, who was now confused at the dragon's behavior. It smiled nervously. **"It'll work. I'm just not sure that you'll particularly like it."** The Fury then proceeded to walk over to Hiccup, who was now backing away from the Night Fury in apprehension.

**"What do you mean? What are you-"** That was all Hiccup could say before he was suddenly pounced by the Night Fury.

Hiccup reacted to this in the most reasonable way: screaming, thrashing, desperately trying to free himself from the successful pinned position he was in AGAIN.

The dragon, which was carefully staying clear of the flailing claws, lifted its paw upwards and proceeded to lay it gently on the human's forehead. The Fury closed it eyes as it concentrated hard on its own internal magic, ignoring the severe beating the human gave to its arm.

Hiccup, who now understood what the dragon was doing, screeched wildly as he tried to shake off the paw. **"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU PROMISED!"**

The dragon gave no indication that it heard Hiccup, instead mumbling under its breath as the paw on Hiccup's head began to glow with light and warmth. The human thoughts quickly became heavier and fuzzier, his thrashing becoming slower and weaker as he began to forget the reason why he was fighting in the first place.

**"NO! GET...off...me! You promised! Leave mind alone! Head feeling warm...not dragon! Human! Name...Hiccup! Off!"**

Hiccup's eyes glazed over, no longer able to focus properly on the dragon. **"Berk...Village...Dad...Yellow hair...Fat man...Girl...Mate?" **Hiccup's movements came to a near standstill, his tail wagging, and his pupils rounded in curiosity. He seemed less of a struggling dragon and more like an excited puppy eager to learn new things.

**"Fish...Eel bad...pack brothers...hungry...warmth...good...scared...smell human...humans bad! Evil! Kill humans! Smelly! Come brother! We kill humans! Then find mate after! Have hatchlings! Let go! We fly now!**

Hiccup, now completely a feral dragon both in mind and body, struggled once more as the glow of the paw stopped. The Night Fury looked down sadly at the boy before sighing.

**"I'm sorry, but I think this is the only way to get you off this island safely without risking you falling to your death."** The newly made dragon looked up in confusion, not knowing why his pack brother was holding him down from attacking the humans and talking to him as if he couldn't fly. He knew how to fly! He could kill those pesky humans in an instant!

And with his healthy body and strength, he would get the attention of every female dragon in the Pack!

**"Don't worry..."** The Night Fury said, **"This isn't a true mind-wipe. All I did was move your human memories to the farthest reaches of your mind. By the time we get to my home, your human side should be coming back."**

The new dragon did not know what his pack brother was talking about, nor did it care for that matter. Did his brother not smell the humans? They needed to steal the sheep to prepare for the cold winter that was coming! The dragons would need sustenance when the fish moved far away for the winter.

The Night Fury, sensing the new dragon's distress, decided to calm this dragon down before it broke free from his grasp. **"Relax. We must return to the Pack before we do anything else. Remember, I was the leader for this raid. You must follow my orders."** he said firmly. The new dragon nodded excitedly.

The Night Fury, nodding in satisfaction, stepped off the 'human' and headed towards the cliff. **"Follow me. We will handle the humans later...brother." **He then dropped his body off the cliff and fly up into the sky, the new dragon following and doing the same. They soared through the sky, gaining higher altitude as the land of Berk became obscured by the clouds in the sky.

Something within the newly made dragon felt a pang of sadness as the island became a speck in the distance, but he shook off the feeling as quick as it came.

It was probably nothing after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Forgiving...NOT!

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! A thank you to my Beta as well.**

**For those who want to see what became of Berk, I'm going to leave that for another story that'll take place after this one.**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

The new dragon screeched in excitement as he saw the Nest Island in his sight. It had taken a few hours, even with flying, but both dragons finally made it. Humans were idiots if they thought they could ever find this island.

Even if the humans were able to survive the trip for weeks on their boats, they would have a hard time navigating through the fog and rocks that surrounded the island. If those didn't stop the humans, the Terrors who kept watch in the damaged Viking ships would notify the pack of Monstrous Nightmares to attack.

Since the human's boats were typically made of wood, it made destroying their ships a lot easier by just setting them aflame. Combined with the fact that the fog limited the sight of humans, it made it harder for the humans to fight dragons.

The Night Fury listened carefully for the sound of his Pack, navigating through the rocks and fog with ease. The former human kept behind, because for some reason, he had no idea how to navigate through the rocks, a weakness that puzzled him to no end. Why couldn't he remember the path?

Surely, in the years of going back and forth raiding the humans, he would remember how to get back, right? Even after years of training...

Wait a minute. Training? What training? Didn't he used to work in the human settlement? No wait! It was the dragons nest! Right? He'd never work in Berk!

The new dragon blinked in confusion, barely able to focus on following his pack brother, wondering where the strange new word 'Berk' had come from. Where had he heard THAT before? Was it the name of the evil human village they raided? If so, when did he hear it?

The dragon shook his head roughly and focused all his attention on following his appointed leader. Maybe after they landed, he could ask that back-stabbing, no-good, son of a half-baked...

**"Look out!"** His pack brother screeched.

The dragon was so distracted by the sudden out-of-place thoughts that were going through his head that he almost collided with the pillar of rock that appeared in front of him. He barely managed to sideswipe the obstacle, grazing the left side of his body slightly enough to be visible, but not drawing any blood in the process.

Both dragons continued through a tunnel in the mountain wall, navigating through the darkness until they came across the volcanic core in the base of the mountain. The lava provided the light within the hollow mountain, revealing the hundreds of dragons that had made a home for themselves.

Gronkles, Terrors, Nightmares, Zipplebacks, Nadders, even a few Night Furies. Young dragons, old dragons, and dragons that had yet to be discovered by the Vikings; there were so many that it was clear to any human that the reptilian race outnumbered the Vikings.

As the two Night Furies flew through the Nest, each dragon they passed looked at them with expressions that ranged from surprise, shock, even excitement. After all, the Night Furies were the most respected due to their strong magic and legendary speed. They planned each raid, took care of the nest, and were considered the most majestic dragons due to their legendary powers.

The Night Furies eventually landed on the highest pillar of rock in the mountain. The pillar sat in the middle of the nest, giving the Night Furies a complete view of the surrounding dragons and their own homes.

Afterwards, a Monstrous Nightmare flew in to greet the main Night Fury, flanked by two Terrible Terrors.

**"Brother!"** The Nightmare exclaimed, **"Where have you been!? We've been looking for you ever since yesterday's raid!"**

**"Do not worry. I'm here now."** The Night Fury said consolingly. He Nightmare bowed in respect as the black dragon regarded him calmly, the two Terrors doing the same. **"The humans actually managed to shoot me down for once."**

The Nightmare gawked at the dragon, unable to believe his ears. **"What! What happened!? Did they hurt you at all? How did you escape? Where did-?"** The Nightmare stopped abruptly, just now noticing the second Fury that was now sniffing the Terrors, who were really confused and disturbed at this dragon's actions. They said nothing, but tucked in their wings and tails as Hiccup looked at them in fascination.

**"Uh...who's the new guy?"** The Nightmare asked.

The Night Fury rolled his eyes. **"That particular dragon just happens to be the same human who shot me down."**

Silence followed as the Nightmare regarded the Night Fury with a blank expression. The Terrors, who had overheard this bit of information, immediately began to hiss at Hiccup, who was now confused at the change in attitude. What was going on? Why were they treating him like he was a-

**"You brought a HUMAN?!"** The Nightmare said out loud. He instantly regretted this action however, as the Nest instantly became quiet and every dragon looked towards him, then at the Night Fury. Hiccup, meanwhile, became even more confused.

What was his leader talking about? There was no human here as far as he was concerned, and why were the Terrors glaring and hissing at him? Why was the Nightmare looking at him apprehensively? Where was this place? Why wasn't he on Berk? When did he get here in this volcano? Where did all these dragons come from? The last thing he remembered was the Night Fury leaping on him and-

...

**"YOU BASTARD!"** Hiccup screeched his human memories finally free from the confinements of his own mind. He leapt to his feet, ignoring the cries of the hundreds of dragons surrounding him. The Nightmare backed off along with the Terrors, clearly intimidated by the former Viking.

Hiccup's eyes focused on the Fury in front of him, black slits replacing the round, innocent eyes that had been there a moment ago. He crouched and growled at the dragon, who was currently staring at him with worry, nervousness, and hint of fear.

**"Are you alright?"** The Night Fury asked innocently. That probably wasn't the right thing to ask at that moment, but maybe the human would forgive him faster if he-

**"WHAT DO YOU MEAN AM I ALRIGHT? YOU JERK!?"**

Obviously not.

**"Oh no, I'm just perfectly fine with the fact that the dragon which 'promised'..."** Hiccup stood up on his hind legs while making a weird gesture with two claws on each paw. **"To leave my mind alone, abruptly decided: Never mind! Just kidding! Here are the thoughts of killing humans and making dragon babies to replace those worthless human memories!"** Hiccup said sarcastically.

The dragon tried to get word out that that was not his intention, but Hiccup was not in the mood for excuses. As far as he was concerned, this dragon just violated the most precious part of his life. He could take his humanity, but for the dragon to take away his human memory was something that Hiccup would not stand for. Especially when said dragon had taken a sworn oath NOT to do so in the first place!

**"OF COURSE I'M NOT ALRIGHT YOU PROMISE-BREAKING, HUMANITY-STEALING SON OF A BITCH!"** Hiccup screeched in anger before pouncing at the Night Fury. The dragon just barely got out of the way as Hiccup went tumbling over the side of the rock pillar. Fortunately, a branch of rock stood out from the cliff, allowing Hiccup to fall only about fifteen feet. However, the impact was still hard enough to knock the boy out cold after landing head-first on the ground.

Every dragon began to close in on the human, some wrought with confusion, fear, suspicion, and in the Night Fury's case: concern.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Motherly Check-Up

**Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the very late update,but I was getting some of the chapters done and my computer crashed due to some virus. Then I just started college, so that's been taking up most of my time lately. The updates will be slower unfortunately, but I will continue to write. Thanks for your support!**

**Short chapter, but I want to post this to let people know I haven't given up on this story.**

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**"...a human!"**

**"Very healthy by the looks of it..."**

**"Momma! That no human! It dragon!"**

**"Little one, it is human, just not anymore. I'll tell you when you're older."**

**"Why wasn't his mind erased?"**

Hiccup awoke, groaning in pain as his head throbbed. His ears rang and he began to get a huge headache due to the voices that were overlapping one another. He stood groggily to his feet, shaking his head to clear fuzziness in his eyes.

**"He's waking up!"**

**"What do we do?"**

**"Yaaay! He's awake momma!"**

**"Little one! Come back!"**

The human looked up, dazed as he saw a small black blur heading towards him. As his eyes began to gain focus, he looked down at a pair of blue eyes, wide with excitement and curiosity.

**"Hello!"** A young, happy hitch-pitched voice said.

Hiccup was about to respond, when he finally noticed WHAT was actually talking to him...

A baby Night Fury.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"** Hiccup screamed.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"** The hatchling squealed.

**"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"**

**AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"**

**"Aaaaaaaaaahhh..."**

**Aaaaaaaaaahhh..."**

**"Aaaauuuuuuuu..."**

**"Uuuuuuhhhhh..."**

The dragons watched as the human and baby Fury began to awkwardly scream at one another until eventually, both of them came to a complete stop. They stared at one another for a long time, waiting for the other to do something.

Then...the hatchling giggled.

Hiccup let out a chuckle.

The hatchling laughed.

Hiccup laughed.

The dragons stared in confusion as both the human and hatchling rolled around on the ground laughing at one another, amused at their own actions. The baby's mother, who had been anxiously holding her breath, let out a sigh of relief before walking over to surround her baby in her tail. The hatchling took no notice, staring at Hiccup as if he was a new toy to play with.

**"You funny! Me like you!"** said the hatchling. His mother began to gently lick him, cleaning him of ash and dirt he had covered himself in when rolling around on the ground.

Hiccup, who had just calmed down, perked his ears up in surprise and stared at the hatchling, realizing that the words 'I like you' had been directed towards him. (Despite the fact that the kid said 'me' rather than I'.)

During his time on Berk, Hiccup had never been popular or even noticed enough for people to actually get to know him. Besides dragons, he was probably the least appreciated being on the island. The dragons on the island were stuck in their cages while Hiccup had to endure insult and, on occasion, physical bullying from his cousin Snotlout.

It was ironic that the first beings to ever say that they liked Hiccup happen to come from the very same species the people of Berk despised. Why was it he could get along with a dragon in less than a minute, and yet suffer through sixteen failed years of attempts to fit in with the rest of the village? Or rather, the Vikings' village?

The baffling realization that this hatchling could say that it liked him, despite the fact that it barely even knew him, gave Hiccup yet another reason as to why this change was probably for the better.

**"Ok little one, you've had your fun, but it's time for your nap."** the mother said sternly. She was upset at her hatchling for running into potential danger, but after seeing the human respond in a way that didn't require her to tear out the human's throat to protect her baby, she decided to cut them both some slack.

**"Auuuuuuuuw Mommy! Me was just having fun with him!"** The hatchling whined.

**"Listen to your mother, little one."** said the mother. Noticing how her baby's ears drooped in sadness, she whispered into his ears, **"I'll let you play with him tomorrow IF he is safe enough. If not..."** The female Night Fury trailed off.

Hiccup, who heard this exchange, slowly looked up in shock, just now noticing the HUGE number of dragons that were currently focusing their eyes on him. His stomach felt itself curl into a knot of fear, while his face heated up from the embarrassment of having so many witnesses to his ridiculous reaction earlier. He decided to keep quiet and avoid doing anything that could potentially make the dragons attack him.

The hatchling perked up at this, happy that he would be able to play with the Night Fury that the other dragons kept referring to as a human. That Fury wasn't dangerous! He was funny! The only thing that was off about him was that he smelled weird. More like the rare smell of trees and wood rather than that of strong smell of burning his daddy usually smelled like.

**"Ok mommy! Can me say bye?"**

The mother stiffened, knowing that saying no would result in nothing but a pouting baby for days. She regarded the human, leaving her hatchling with a Monstrous Nightmare and whispering a quick "Wait here." to the baby. The baby nodded, confused but trusting his mom.

Hiccup flinched from the gaze, but kept himself still nonetheless as the female began to walk around him. She sniffed him up from head to toe, while the other dragons watched with anticipation, knowing that her judgment would be important for how they could interact with this human.

Just as Hiccup felt he would faint from anxiety, the female took one more sniff from him, snorted, and then proceeded to lean her head against Hiccup's forehead, her eyes closed. Hiccup stiffened at this, but then felt something intruding into his head, almost as if there was another presence other than him. He felt his fear drain away, replaced by calm and peaceful thoughts.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes and backed away, looking at the human with surprise and...Pity?

Then the dragoness did something that shocked not only Hiccup, but all the other dragons as well.

She got on her hind legs and embraced him, wrapping her wings and forearms around his frame, purring all the while. She nuzzled his neck, while Hiccup's face heated up in embarrassment.

It was not just from the fact that a female was hugging him in front of everyone, but this was the first time in YEARS that someone other than his mother actually hugged him. The only other physical contact that he ever got after his mother's death was one of two things: either his Dad dragging him away by the arm in humiliation, or the other kids bruising him with punches to the arm. (Not in the friendliest of ways either.)

He stayed still, knowing that moving would probably shake her off, which probably wasn't the best course of action. He wanted to get on these dragons' good side, not alienate them from him.

Just before she let go, she whispered one last thing into his ear...

**"Thank you for not killing my mate."**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Forgive and Forget

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. College has been taking up all of my time.**

**Anyways, thanks to everyone that reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I appreciate your support.**

**P.S. just so everyone knows, I'm not watching the show 'Riders Of Berk.' So don't expect the same continuity as the show.**

* * *

Hiccup, who had forgotten all about the Night Fury he freed until this point, gaped in shock. This was that dragon's MATE?! And if that was true, then that would make that hatchling from earlier that dragon's...hatchling.

The female, who had been listening to Hiccup's thoughts, suddenly changed her pitiful expression into a serious one. She straightened herself on her hind legs, looking regal and majestic.

**"That's right Hiccup Haddock. That dragon you referred to as a 'bastard' happens to be my mate."**

Every dragon cringed, knowing that insulting one's mate, especially a Night Fury's, usually resulted in severe injury from the significant other, typically in places that were not MEANT to be injured. Hiccup felt all the blood drain from his face, sputtering as he attempted to apologize.

**"I...uuuh...I'm not...I'm really..."**

The female held up a paw, silencing him immediately.

**"I will forgive you this time, since my mate could have at least told you his plan before simply restricting your memories."** She said calmly. Hiccup let out a sigh of relief, while also snorting at the dragon's stupid decision at not telling him ANYTHING before...

**"However!"** The female abruptly exclaimed. **"Know that my mate did at least prevent your possible death."**

Hiccup was confused.

**"While it was indeed foolish for my mate to simply restrict your memories without your permission, it did get you here, did it not? Besides, how much harder and riskier could it have been if he decided to simply, oh I don't know, toss you off the cliff and hope for the best?"** The female smirked at the scared expression on Hiccup's face.

**"With that said, you should probably be thanking him rather than trying to attack him."** Hiccup nodded quickly, feeling that maybe the Fury's actions were a little more justified.

**"Try attacking my mate again however and I'll make sure you bear no children...ever."** The female warned.

Hiccup, along with every single male dragon, subconsciously tucked in their tails and crossed their legs. He nodded furiously, while the female chuckled, amused by his actions.

**"Momma!"** Both Hiccup and the female turned their heads towards the sudden voice, seeing the hatchling from before bounding over with a jubilant atmosphere surrounding him. Seeing as how things had been settled, the rest of the Nest went back to their own business. After all, this wasn't the first human to have made it to the Nest.

**"Momma, daddy is back!"** The hatchling said excitedly. Hiccup smiled. The hatchling reminded him of himself whenever his Dad came back and he always had fun finding his mother to tell her the wonderful news. This memory was interrupted however, at the fact that the Night Fury was back, and he had no idea what to do! What could you say to someone you had attacked anyway?

**"Saying sorry would suffice, I think."**

Hiccup turned his head toward the mother, who was looking at him encouragingly before turning to nuzzle her baby.

The hatchling, who had just now noticed Hiccup, looked at his Mom and proceeded to give wide, round eyes. **"Can me show friend to Daddy?" **he asked.

The mother gave her hatchling an amused look, and then nodded. The baby Fury squealed in excitement and ran over to Hiccup. While the baby's back was turned, Hiccup noticed the mother was staring intently at him, as if to see how he would react. Hiccup nodded, and then proceeded to lower his head, allowing the baby Night Fury to climb on his back. The female nodded approvingly.

**"Follow me."** the mother said. She then spread her wings and flew up higher towards the top of the volcano.

Hiccup was confused. How was he supposed to follow her? He couldn't fly properly. All he knew was that you had to spread your wings, spread back your hind legs, and thrust hard at an angle to...

Before he knew what he was doing, Hiccup had instinctively begun to fly behind her, the baby clinging tightly to his head. Realizing this sudden, out-of-nowhere talent, he faltered, starting to waive his wings wildly and accidentally flinging the baby off his head in the process. His body spiraled downward as he flapped his wings to right himself.

**"MOMMY!"** screamed the hatchling. The female turned sharply, eyes widening in shock ad she watched her baby flap his wings wildly, desperately trying to fly. Unfortunately, his wings were underdeveloped and too weak to support him, being only a few weeks old. She took no notice of Hiccup, who was also in free fall next to her hatchling. She back turned immediately, but realized that she would not reach her baby in time.

The hatchling screeched in horror as the ground came rushing up to meet him. Just before he impacted, he felt something surrounding him and a warm blackness clouding his vision.

* * *

Hiccup moaned. His body felt like it had aches and pains everywhere. His wings were hurting the most, since they took the full brunt of the fall after wrapping them around his body. He flipped over to his side, feeling as though a lump was weighing down on his stomach.

He spread his wings in an attempt to relieve his stomach of the pressure. As he looked down to examine the damage, he froze.

There, lying quietly on his stomach was the Night Fury hatchling from earlier, sleeping peacefully. The baby was splayed across his body, enjoying the warmth of Hiccup's chest. The sight was enough to make Hiccup smile, glad that even if he had to suffer, this baby was at least safe.

It was during this moment that Hiccup realized he was being watched by two presences. He tilted his head up and saw the dragons he dreaded most.

Both the female Night Fury and the male Night Fury were looking at him with blank, unreadable expressions. However, Hiccup assumed that they were inwardly trying to decide what punishment they would give him for almost killing their hatchling.

**"D-don't worry! I-I-I'll be careful next time." **stuttered Hiccup as he carefully attempted to remove the baby from his chest using his paws. The parents watched with wide eyes as he lifted their baby by the shoulders and laid him peacefully on the ground. Hiccup lowered his head submissively, hoping that they would forgive him.

It was the sudden change in position that woke up the hatchling, which, upon seeing his mother, went sprinting into her waiting chest. He whimpered softly, scared of what happened earlier. The mother closed her wings over him, cooing softly to calm him down.

Hiccup, meanwhile, tried to explain what happened.

**"You see, it was like this...well it wasn't really anything at all...I don't know how to fly...but I flew anyway...I don't know how...then I panicked and forgot about how your son was on my back..."**

It was then that the male Night Fury got down on all fours, his face still unreadable, and proceeded to calmly heads towards the human, who was now backing away.

**"N-n-no! Please! I'm sorry! I just panicked, that's all! I'm sorry!"** Hiccup pleaded. He proceeded to turn around and try to run, only to find that he was being blocked by two Gronkles. They didn't growl or snarl, but they did push him forward with a thrust from both of them.

Hiccup, having no other place to go, turned around to find another way to escape.

He stiffened when his snout bumped into the Night Fury's black scaled-covered chest. Looking up at the dragon, he expected the dragon to start snarling at him.

He did not expect to see an amused, half-lidded expression looking down at him. Before he could say anything...

**"We're not angry you know."** The Night Fury explained bluntly. **"As a matter of fact, we are grateful to you."**

Hiccup sputtered confusedly, lowering himself down to the ground in submission. **"B-b-but I almost killed your son!"**

**"But you saved him as well." **The Night Fury added. Hiccup became silent. **"And for that, you're forgiven."**

Hiccup lowered his head sadly. He was relieved to know that the dragons had forgiven him, but he felt guilty for endangering their son. He didn't mean to after all.

**"Of course you didn't mean to."** The Night Fury reassured. **"It's partly my fault actually. I should have told you about the side-effects of the mind spell I put on you."**

Hiccup propped himself up on his hind legs, remembering what he was going to ask the dragon in the first place before the accident. His guilty feelings evaporated almost immediately.

**"Yeah, about that... You could have at least told me something before, you know, erasing my mind."** Hiccup eyes became half-lidded, some of his earlier anger returning. The female dragon watched carefully, ready to spring into action if the human showed any sign of harming her mate.

The hatchling meanwhile, had fallen asleep once again, and was now resting gently against her chest.

The Fury flinched from the razor tone in Hiccup's voice. **"I admit it was a stupid mistake, but teaching you would have taken days, if not weeks."**

Hiccup glared.

The Night Fury sighed and closed his eyes. **"I felt that if I asked to erase your mind, even temporarily, you would have thrown a fit. I thought that maybe after we got off the island, I could explain myself."**

The former Viking thought about this, then rolled his eyes. **"Well...I guess I can understand it from your perspective. I mean, I probably wouldn't have agreed even if it was the only way off Berk."**

The Night Fury tilted his head as he regarded Hiccup.

**"Still, do you know how scary it is to be a prisoner of your own mind? All I wanted to do was hunt humans and..."** Hiccup shuddered a little before continuing, **"...mate with female dragons."**

The dragon nodded. **"Since you were human, all you have ever known was human beliefs, cultures, and ethics. Since I erased your mind, you had only the most basic of dragon instincts."**

Hiccup lowered his head in thought before continuing.

**"I guess that makes sense, but then how come I suddenly know how to fly now? You still didn't teach me."** he asked.

It was at that moment that the female Night Fury cut in. Placing the hatchling on her back, she waved her paw in dismissal for the two Gronkles to leave.

**"Technically...that's not true Hiccup." **she said. Hiccup tilted his head as he regarded her curiously. "While you do have your mind intact now, the spell my mate used did leave most of those instincts intact, even if they are no longer dominant."

Hiccup's eyes widened. **"So that's why I was flying without knowing!" **he exclaimed in realization.

The male Night Fury smiled. **"Yes, it's a side-effect that works to both our advantage. This way, we won't have to train you or reduce you down to that level of dragon mentality again."**

Hiccup sighed. **"Do you promise?"**

The Night Fury stared at Hiccup before looking down at his paws. He looked back to Hiccup before raising his right forearm towards the transformed human.

The gesture baffled Hiccup. What was the Fury doing?

The Night Fury, picking up on Hiccup's confusion, explained. **"I saw in your mind that humans do this as a way of signifying trust towards one another. Just thought I would try it with you."**

Hiccup, now getting the meaning of the gesture, raised his left paw and stepped closer. Both dragon and human shook paws, smiling at the silliness of it all.

**"Daddy?"**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Dragon's Reasons and Human Ideas

**Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for your support! **

**BTW, not to put a downer on everyone who is currently reading this story, but I've been working on a new one lately, so I'm going to be dividing my time between the two of them. My first story "Death Notes and Dragons" is still on hiatus though. And with college. it might take longer than usual. Sorry :(**

**But that's not going to stop this story! No matter what, I will finish it. I would even say that were getting close to the end. So keep up hope. :)**

**That's all I have to say for now. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

It had been a week since the incident, but the four Night Furies soon put it behind them.

The hatchling had been surprisingly forgiving of the whole ordeal, as the first thing he asked once he got over the trauma was whether or not his new friend was in trouble. Both parents had responded in the negative.

Hiccup had gotten used to his new body; learning how to fly, how to catch fish, and even the etiquette between dragons in the society. The latter of which was his least favorite.

When a female Deadly Nadder asked whether he was available, Hiccup, thinking she wanted his help with something, naively responded yes. She had purred seductively, and then asked him to meet her back at her part of the cave. Hiccup, not knowing any better, agreed.

He never expected to walk into her cave to see her... presenting. He immediately ran from the cave, disturbed and traumatized and leaving the Nadder very confused and unsatisfied.

He still couldn't get over the fact that the females here were easier to get than the women in the Viking village. That earned him a smack over the head by the female Night Fury's tail when he said that out loud.

The Deadly Nadder later approached him and apologized, after the male Fury had searched her out to explain the situation. Both him and the Nadder were on good terms now, even though she kept trying to court him every once in a while. Hiccup refused every time.

While he no longer required clothing due to his dragon body, the male Night Fury revealed that he had kept Hiccup's torn green undershirt. Hiccup was happy that at least he could keep something as memorabilia of his past human life.

He was confused though as to why the shirt was wet and gooey. Whenever he tried to ask why, the

Male Night Fury responded that he didn't really want to know.

His question was answered after seeing the female Night Fury regurgitate fish for the young hatchling. He took one look at his shirt, and then his thoughts went back to the pile of fish he had devoured during his first days as a dragon.

Several minutes later, the four Night Furies had to move somewhere else, as Hiccup vomited on the spot, which was, unfortunately, directly in the middle of the cave home. The Furies were upset, but they were kind enough to at least help the former human become more desensitized to the fact that dragons would do certain things other humans found disgusting.

Hiccup still burned the shirt though.

Still, despite a few incidents, Hiccup began to see the dragon family as his own true family. The couple was always kind to him and the hatchling was always fun to play with. And as the Furies were happy with him, the other dragons took their cue and began to accept Hiccup as just another dragon in the Nest.

However, the one thing that bothered Hiccup was the fact that he was ignoring the dragons every time they went on a raid. At first, he had expressed his opinion openly to the Night Fury family.

"I don't get it." he said.

The male Night Fury looked up from watching his son play with his mate. "What don't you get?" he asked, looking at Hiccup curiously.

"You dragons always raid our village, and yet you seem to have it good here. Why steal our sheep and attack us in the process?" he asked.

The Fury stared at Hiccup before sighing sadly. "I hoped you can understand, but we dragons would love to be able to ignore you humans. Unfortunately, our food circumstances won't allow that." The Fury lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Hiccup was confused. "What do you mean? I've been fishing here, and there seems to be plenty to go around. Why go the extra mile and steel our sheep and cattle?"

The dragon shook his head. "While the fish right now is plentiful, there are times where the supply is too low to feed all of us. Remember, we are not the only dragons in this mountain. There are hundreds, if not thousands of us scattered all around this island. I just happened to turn you during a time where our supply was good."

Hiccup thought about this, and then shook his head in frustration. Why was this conservation so reasonable and calm? Shouldn't he be angry that the dragons were stealing and killing his people, even if he could no longer live with them?

"The truth is..." The dragon began, "We do this to survive Hiccup, not to kill you humans. You Vikings just happen to be in the middle of our problem."

The Night Fury walked over to the opening of the cave, using his paw to address the hundreds of dragons that colonized the dormant, hollow volcano. The red light gave everything an orange hue, but Hiccup had gotten used to this.

"It always happens every winter. Our fish move away after the water begins to freeze over, and usually we have to store the fish to survive the sudden change." He explained this in a melancholy tone. Hiccup stared, suddenly feeling the gap in logic he had seen slowly begin to fill with understanding.

"Usually, we divide it as evenly as possible, but near the end of the winter is when we have our first deaths." The dragon stood on his hind legs, closing his eyes and sighing. He looked back to his son, who was currently taking a nap with his mother. Hiccup meanwhile, simply looked on in pity.

"The first ones to go are typically the parents. We value our lives just as much as you Vikings, but we would rather die quietly of starvation than watch our hatchling squeal desperately for food." The Night Fury heard a gasp, and turned his head towards Hiccup, whose eyes were currently shimmering.

The dragon looked down, clenching his eyes in sadness, before continuing.

"While we Night Furies usually get first pick due to our leadership, there are those days where my mate and I have to feed our son what scraps we have left." The Night Fury shivered. "It's hard to explain to him when he can't find any of his young friends, but he eventually stopped asking." A large sigh escaped the Night Fury as he walked over and nuzzled his sleeping son. A low rumbling escaped the young hatchling's throat.

Hiccup felt his shoulders shake. He never expected to hear any of this! Why was he the only human who could know the truth? These dragons were always said to be mindless beasts who cared only about killing humans and stealing livestock as a personal reward, when really, the dragons were doing what his tribe would do when in desperate times.

The male gave his son one more nuzzle before turning back to Hiccup, who eyes were dripping with tears.

"If there were some other alternative, we'd take it, but so far we've come up with nothing." He glanced at the cave entrance. "It's going to be a few weeks before the rationing begins, but this year has been lucky so far. We send out more dragons to collect fish, but considering we can only store a few at a time, it makes it tiring, even for us."

Hiccup was going to respond, but then froze at the last statement. His eyes widened, no longer crying. The silence caught the dragon's attention, and he turned to look at the human, who was currently staring ahead with a blank look on his face.

Before the Night Fury could ask anything, he saw a grin slowly beginning to form on the human's face. He was half-tempted to read the human's mind to see what was with the sudden mood change, but after Hiccup had begun showing annoyance toward this ability, he tried to restrict himself from doing so.

Hiccup rubbed his eyes, laughing a little, as though he had just thought of something very amusing. "What if I gave you guys a method that could provide you with enough fish to feed ALL of us? Even during the winter time? Then there wouldn't be as many deaths as before!" He said jubilantly, all the sadness from before replaced with excitement. Even if he could no longer live with his tribe, if this idea worked, then both the Vikings and the dragons would no longer be at each other's throats.

The male Night Fury stared at Hiccup, then tilted his head skeptically. What did the human have in mind? Did he think that just because he was a Night Fury, he could just collect fish faster?

Hiccup, sensing the dragon's confusion and skepticism, explained.

"Remember how you told me that you guys tire out when getting fish for yourselves?" He asked. The Fury nodded. "Well, have you ever wondered how we Vikings seem to get just as many fish as you guys do?" The Fury shook his head, but his ears perk up.

"The thing is we have those rope things called nets..." The Fury's eyes narrowed at that last statement. What did those stringy things the human's trapped them in have to do with any of this?

"And their best use, besides using them to trap you guys..." The Night Fury growled slightly, making Hiccup roll his eyes.

"Is catching enough fish to feed everyone. They're light, easy-to-use, and versatile." Hiccup stated in a voice that sounded like he was trying to sell something to a very stubborn customer.

The dragon stopped growling, sat on his rump, and proceeded to give Hiccup his full and undivided attention.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Plotting and Planning

**Author's Notes: I'm apologize for the really long wait. I just saw how popular this story was and I literally smacked myself in the face when I accidentally deleted this chapter and its outline. Plus the finals, my other story, and my life in general, it took my time.  
**

**I know it's short, but this chapter is important for the future of this story. Not much of Hiccup here though.  
**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.  
**

* * *

The new idea of using nets to fish was a brilliant concept. The male Night Fury was surprised that the dragons never thought of this before. However, since the next raiding party was in the next few days, they had to tell the other dragons about their change in plans.

His mate, once she woke up with the hatchling, was listening to Hiccup intently. Hiccup laid out his idea for her, while the hatchling squirmed in his mother's grip. The male Fury chuckled. His son was probably bored about of his mind.

The male Night Fury had been skeptical at first, due to the fact that Hiccup was asking them to use a human tool. However, Hiccup was firm in his suggestion, and after all, if something was good enough to capture dragons, then surely it could catch plenty of fish as well, right?

Plus, if they could make this work, there would be less starvation for the dragons and more food for the Viking village. Heck, this could probably end the need to raid the village entirely! Then, as Hiccup said, there would no longer be a reason to keep this 'war' going.

Hiccup finished telling the mother of his idea. The female contemplated what she had just heard, while the former human just looked on in anticipation. The male Night Fury reached out his mind to Hiccup's... And shook his head after hearing the "Please say yes!" phrase in Hiccup's head WAY too many times.

The female smile and nodded, then addressed her son, who was half-asleep from all the boring 'parent talk.' She used her gummy teeth to pick him up by his chest, startling the hatchling awake. Hiccup stared in confusion as she proceeded to lay the hatchling on his paws.

"Will you watch my son for a second?" The female asked.

Hiccup nodded, still confused about what she wanted to do. The hatchling meanwhile, was currently hopping up Hiccup's back until he was resting on the human's head. The baby giggled, since he enjoyed playing with his new friend.

The female then went to talk to her mate, who was also confused. Hiccup, meanwhile, left the cave to watch the hatchling play with the other baby dragons. The two adults probably needed some time together anyways. After all, it's not every day a good idea comes along and helps solve a major problem.

He headed out the cave entrance and disappeared. Both Furies waited a moment to make sure he was gone before the female spoke up.

"Well, I'll admit that human is smarter than what we give him credit for." Stated the female. Her mate nodded in agreement.

"He's probably the only human here who hasn't needed to be mind-wiped completely." Added the male Night Fury. "I'm glad I reconsidered my original decision with him."

The female nuzzled her mate, crooning softly. "Do you think he misses his family on that island?" she asked sadly.

"Occasionally." replied the male. The female pulled back, looking at her mate in confusion. The male, seeing her bafflement, decided to elaborate.

"When he sleeps, I look into his dreams." He explained. "The only member of his family I ever see him with is his mother."

"But what about his father? Didn't he have any friends? The female asked. "Doesn't he dream about them to?"

"Oh, his 'father' and 'friends' appear as well." Her mate said with a sarcastic tone, putting heavy emphasis on the words. "They're in his nightmares."

The female's eyes widened in surprise She pulled back and regarded her mate curiously.

The male sighed. "Apparently, he was considered the social pariah of the human village. He's considerably smaller than any of the Vikings there, and from what I saw, he was considered more dangerous to the village than to dragons."

The female gaped at her mate, unable to believe her ears. This boy, with his incredulous kindness and intelligence, never had any real friends or family besides his mother? How horrible!

"And don't even get me started on the bullying he went through. I think he still had some bruises from his cousin before I transformed him." Her mate brought up, rolling his eyes in obvious disgust.

Her own eyes creased in anger. How dare they?! Even his own cousin, for Hel's sake! If she wasn't a mother, she would fly over to that island and set it aflame.

"You know," She said bitterly. "I think he had the most humanity compared to those monsters on that island."

The male regarded her for a minute before nodding.

"I agree." He responded. The couple just sat there angrily, this issue unable to completely leave their minds. Hiccup had proven to be such a brother to them, and that he had to suffer ridicule, bullying, and neglect for most of his life was completely unforgivable in their opinion.

But Hiccup had made it clear to them that he preferred not to look back on his past. While he was still a little sore at the village, (after all, the village didn't even bother to look for him the day he was transformed) he wasn't the vengeful sort of person.

Then, slowly but surely, both dragons turned to each other and smirked. They brought their muzzles to one another, giving a loving dragon kiss before pulling back.

"Well, I guess we should spread the news of Hiccup's idea to the rest of the nest, shouldn't we?" The female suggested, baring her sharp teeth in a grin.

The male grinned back, then closed his eyes and concentrated. Not too long after this, a small Terrible Terror flew into the cave, landing and bowing lowly towards the couple and awaiting orders.

"Spread the word. We head out tomorrow night to the human village." The male Night Fury commanded. The Terror was confused at the change of timing of the raid, but knew better than to question his superiors. He nodded obediently, turning around to do his job, but was startled when the female's tail plopped down in front of him.

"However, we want it to be known that human casualty is strictly forbidden during this raid, unless as a last resort." She added.

The Terror nodded and turned to head out, but was blocked this time by the male's tail.

"We also want you to send for one dragon of every type here, including yours, and have them meet specifically with us. We have a...special mission for them." The male said, shooting a smirk toward his mate, who returned it with a smirk of her own.

The Terror looked at up at the two, waiting to see if there was anything more they needed to tell him. The Furies watched him confusedly before motioning for him to go.

The Terror flew off... And proceeding to bump right into yet ANOTHER Night Fury. He gazed up at the dragon with an annoyed expression, before realizing that this was the transformed human (Who was looking down at the Terror in surprise.) He gave the human a quick nod of acknowledgment before finally heading out.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Said parents smiled at the call of their names. Hiccup had to squint as the baby walked onto his face, excited and jumpy like any other little kid.

"Can we play now?" The baby asked impatiently while Hiccup did all he could to resist shaking his head and throwing off the hatchling. It didn't help when a child was literally sitting on your face.

The two parents laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Suspicion

**Author's Note: I am SO sorry for the incredible long wait on this chapter. I had writer's block, and one of the reviews I had made me think on what I could do to give this story conflict.**

**I'm happy to say that I have finally gotten back my motivation. This is the next chapter to New Life Ahead!**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

**"Hiccup!"** Called the male Night Fury. He had searched for the boy everywhere. After all, today was the day him and his mate would oversee this raid personally, and someone had to watch their child while they were gone.

**"Coming!"** Replied the former Viking. Giving a quick goodbye to the female Nadder he'd been talking to, the teen flapped his wings and came down to the level where the male was. Giving the dragon a quick bow (since it was custom according to what the dragons told him) he stood back up and waited for the dragon's reply.

**"My mate and I will be going on this raid tonight, but we need to ask a few favors of you."** The male stated. His mate in question was busy gathering the other dragons that were gonna go with them. The Terror had followed their orders to the letter.

**"One, we need to know where exactly your tribe keeps the fishing nets."**

Hiccup smiled. "That's easy. Just check the building right next to the boats. You'll find a bunch of nets hanging off to the side."

**"Good."** Replied the Night Fury. **"By the way, is there a particular place where your village keeps their children at all?"** He asked.

Hiccup did a double-take. **"Wh-Why would you want to know that?"** He asked suspiciously.

To his surprise, the Night Fury smiled.

**"Well, if this idea of yours does pay off, then we won't have to attack your village that often, if at all."** He answered.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, his tail whipping about nervously. **"That still doesn't answer my question."** The former Viking said sternly.

The male Night Fury grimaced momentarily, before it quickly became a happy expression again. He let out a chuckle, (which, to Hiccup, sounded a bit forced) before **answering.**

**"We'd like to not harm any humans this time. Our raid team has been given specific orders not to hurt humans unless necessary. However, since your village will attack us on sight, we might have to burn some buildings to keep them occupied."** The Fury frowned a bit, his voice taking on a sympathetic tone. **"The trouble is, we would hate to have to accidentally burn a building with younglings."**

Hiccup's suspicious glower instantly softened. From what he'd heard so far, these dragons were making a real genuine effort to help themselves and his former tribe. Smiling, he warned the Night Fury not to target the mead hall, which was the biggest building in Berk. He knew where most of the children would hide since he'd been thrown in there personally by his father. *sigh* Constantly.

The Night Fury gave an unnaturally large tooth-filled grin before turning it into a regular satisfied smile. It confused Hiccup greatly about why the Night Fury seemed so ecstatic about the advice. Then again, it could be that the dragon was happy that this human-dragon 'war' may soon come to an end.

**"Thank you Hiccup."** The male answered simply. When he turned to leave, he paused, then looked back to the human.

**"I made the right choice that day when I decided to spare your life and your mind."** Said the Fury. Hiccup's eyes widened in surprise. Why was the dragon bringing this up?

The dragon smiled warmly. **"I can't imagine why everybody in your tribe ever saw you as 'useless.' Maybe if things had turned out differently, they might have accepted you. But who knows? That's their loss."** The male gave Hiccup one last wink before turning and walking off.

While Hiccup smiled and thought about what the dragon had said, he never noticed the smirk the dragon had as he walked away.

**"And this tribe is about to lose a lot more."** The male thought to himself while grinning.

* * *

Hiccup flew up to the high part of the nest where the Night Fury family resided. He found both parents there, nosing the baby dragon as he fell asleep. Nighttime had come down, so the couple would be gone soon for the raid. Fortunately, Hiccup had promised them that he would watch the child while they were gone. They were now laying down some ground rules for Hiccup.

**"And remember, if he wakes up, just tell him that his parents are all right and that we will be back soon."** Said the female. The baby loved Hiccup, but he always got finicky when both of his parents were gone for too long.

**"Don't worry about it."** Hiccup said, **"I've watched him before. I mean it's not like he going to disappear while you guys are gone or anything."** He laughed.

Both Furies chuckled, although they shared a glance at one another which betrayed a hint of smugness. Hiccup's smile deflated a little, confused about what these two were keeping from him. He was an expert on telling what people were actually thinking based on their facial expressions. After all, his tribe had always been smiling when his dad was around, but their smiles dimmed when HE was around.

**"I'm sorry, but is there something going on?"** He asked abruptly. The two Furies seemed to realize that their subtle language wasn't so subtle, so they looked away from one another and back to Hiccup.

**"It's nothing Hiccup."** said the female. At Hiccup's suspicious look, the male was quick to reiterate.

**"It's just a little joke between us Hiccup,"** He explained. **"Just something we find funny."**

Hiccup's expression turned to one of confusion. **"What's the joke?"** He asked. The couple seemed to grimace in response.

Before the male could answer Hiccup's question, a loud onslaught of roars was heard throughout the nest, coming from a group that flew up and landed on the cliffs walls near the Fury cave.

**"Leader, the sun has set! We are ready!"** A Gronkle cried out. All the other dragons nodded in response.

Instantly, the couple snapped up in a refined place, giving off a superior status by the way they stood. Giving Hiccup a quick goodbye, both sprang off the cliff edge, flying in unison together before letting off loud screeches. The other dragons let out accompanying roars, moving behind them in a V-shaped formation.

Hiccup stood and watched by the entrance as the dragons flew off, feeling happy that this raid might be the last one the dragons would ever have to make.

But for some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Pushing it to the back of his mind, the former Viking went and spread his wings across the baby Fury's body and tugged him close. The baby purred in response.

Hiccup smiled, forgetting his problems as his eyes closed into a relaxed nap.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Reduced to a Role in the family.

**Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Managed to find the time to finish this chapter. I'm sorry for the short length, but I like to focus more on giving the audience what they need rather than just padding out the story needlessly.**

**For those getting irritated with the no name thing, I apologize for the inconvenience. It's just I like the whole animal thing of being able to tell each other apart without having to name one another. I took the concept from Rift-Raft's excellent story "I Hear Him Scream." I MIGHT consider giving names later, but that may not come as soon as you might think. :(**

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

**"Brother Hiccup! Wake up!"** Said the high-pitched voice of the hatchling in a playful tone. His little paws rested themselves upon Hiccup's forearm while he bounced up and down in excitement.

Hiccup tucked his head under his arms. He grumbled a "**no**." under his breath. Like many nights before, he smiled when he heard an irritated groan come from the hatchling.

**"Come on, brother. You promised me that me could play with the other dragons today!"** The hatchling complained. He climbed up Hiccup's wings and made it to the larger Night Fury's scalp. The baby then proceeded to clamp his small, underdeveloped teeth on Hiccup's left ear and began to tug.

The larger dragon chuckled a little at the baby's futile attempts of waking him up. He liked playing with the hatchling. It was like being with a puppy who could talk. It was cute, but never got annoying for the Viking. He could spend all day with the hatchling if he wanted to.

The baby was sent flying after tugging too hard and landed on his backside. The hatchling shook his head to clear it, then got a determined expression set on his face. He got back on all fours, lowered his front paws, shook his rump in the air, then dashed toward Hiccup with his head bent forward.

Hiccup awoke to the feeling of the baby's head hitting his own. Hard. With a groan, the former Viking finally got to his feet, rubbing his head in annoyance. The impact hadn't hurt that much, but it was still a bit painful. Yawning, the dragon looked around for the child before finally seeing the hatchling on his bottom once again, rubbing his own head in obvious pain.

**"You alright?"** asked Hiccup. The hatchling didn't seem to respond, clenching his eyes tightly while a small whimper escaped him. Hiccup's playful expression became one of concern once he realized this.

**"Hey."** He said, walking over to the baby and lowering his large head down to the hatchling's level. **"You're not hurt, are you?"**

The hatchling looked up towards Hiccup, tears of pain present in his small green eyes. The baby's small wings wrapped around him, as if embarrassed about being caught crying. Hiccup frowned at this, extending his muzzle underneath the hatchling's and crooning a bit to calm the hatchling down.

The dragon purred in response, forgetting all about his pain and instead squealed a little when the former human's muzzle tickled the underside of his chin. A little giggle escaped him as Hiccup began licking at the spot that dragons felt the most pleasure. Hiccup had been taught that this was the area that held a really soft nerve that, when touched or scratched, would instantly calm a dragon down.

**"Sto-Ah ha ha ha-p it!"** The baby giggled. **"That tickles."**

Hiccup pulled back, proud that his 'baby brother' was happy again. **"You're alright now?"** He asked.

The hatchling's content expression suddenly became one of confusion and...fear? **"You can talk? Who are you?"** The hatchling asked, his voice laced with rising panic.

Now Hiccup was the confused one. What was the baby talking about? Of course he could talk! They were both dragons. And what did he mean by who he was? They'd known each other for weeks by now! He narrowed his eyes in bafflement.

The baby began to crawl backwards, but he seemed to be having troubled moving his legs. It was like he had completely forgotten how to coördinate his limbs properly. The hatchling yelped when his legs tangled over each other, causing him to land on his back painfully.

"Woah! What's the matter? Are you okay?" Hiccup asked in concern. The Viking took a few steps forward toward the hatchling, but the baby (who was in tears at this point from the pain) gasped and flailed his front paws wildly.

**"Please don't hurt me dragon!"** He cried. **"I just want to go home!"**

Hiccup froze. **"Did he just refer to me as 'dragon?'"** He thought. **"First his fear, then asking whether dragons could talk, and now he can't walk? Just what..."**

Then Hiccup gasped as realization crashed in with the strength of a fireball.

**"You were a human...weren't you?"** Hiccup asked softly, his tone and expression blank.

The hatchling, who had now managed to scoot himself with difficulty to the wall, whimpered.

**"Please! All I remember is being picked up by a Night Fury after my village was destroyed! He took me here and then he bit me, and the-then m-m-my b-body b-became this and then I don't remember!"** The hatchling wailed through his sobs. He curled in upon himself, his wings wrapping around him as he wailed in misery.

Hiccup's body was numb. From shock, anger, or sadness, he couldn't tell. It was probably all three, but all he could do at the moment was watch as the hatchling continued to cry, sobbing quietly while pressing himself flat against the wall. The baby dragon's fast confession took a moment to settle in his brain. The baby's position reminded him all too well of how he reacted when he got turned into a dragon.

**"He's... a human too?"** He thought in shock. The hatchling meanwhile, continued to sob loudly and cry out in vain.

**"Please just take me home! I don't want to be-"**

All of a sudden, the hatchling froze. His facial expression switched from one of sadness and fear to one of confusion, then to severe pain. Hiccup watched with wide eyes as the hatchling lifted his tiny paws to his head, gripping it as if it was on fire. Hiccup's heart began to race as the hatchling threw himself to the floor, thrashing about and babbling to himself, almost too quick for the Viking to make out.

**"Mommy! Help! No I just want to...play with brother! NO! Home! I want to go... Where mommy? Village burn? But where Mommy and Daddy? Head hurt! Mommy!**

Then the hatchling's eyes bulged, making contact with Hiccup's. The baby dragon remained silent for a moment, just staring at Hiccup with scared eyes. Then he took one last deep breath... and proceeded to scream.

**"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"** He screeched, his eyes dilating into pinpricks while Hiccup continued to watch in horror, mouth gaping. The hatchling then threw himself around like he was having a seizure, screeching the entire time and clenching his eyes shut while grasping his paws to his head.

Then, as quickly as the ordeal started, it stopped. The baby dragon's erratic movements slowly stilled, then ceased altogether. His screeches fell into silence, then he fell unconscious on the floor, facing the wall.

Hiccup, who was now breathing hard to calm himself down, stared wearily at the body of the baby dragon. His body clenched up when the hatchling began to bring himself up on all fours. Without facing Hiccup, the baby got up off the floor, stared at the wall in front of him for a few moments, then turned his head to face Hiccup.

The hatchling stared at Hiccup with blank eyes, almost as if he didn't recognize him. The former Viking noticed that the hatchling's eyes were becoming slits, but it looked unnatural with how the baby dragon wasn't moving or giving off any emotion. After a few moments, (when the eyes finished changing) an innocent smile broke across the baby dragon's face.

**"You awake Brother Hiccup!"** He cried out happily, wagging his tail and flapping his wings. **"Can we play now?"**

Hiccup just stood there for a minute, regarding the hatchling intently, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and everything went dark.

Strangely, the last thing he heard was a feminine voice calling his name.


	14. Chapter 14

New Life Ahead ch 14: Past and Present Relationships

**Author's Note: Apologize for the wait! Finally decided to include a character I've been dodging around since when I first introduced her. **

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**

* * *

**"Hiiiiiccuuuuuup... Waaaaaaake uuuuuuuuuuuuuup."** said a disturbingly smug voice.

The dragon teen mumbled.

**"Waaaaaaaaake up!"** came the voice again.

Hiccup's eyes twitched a little, but remained closed.

**"Wake up sleepyhead."** the voice giggled. With this, something hard and scaly brushed its way across Hiccup's snout.

**"WOAH!"** Hiccup exclaimed, his eyes shooting open in response to the unexpected nuzzle. His body leapt from its original position of sleep and got into a splayed, alert stance. His eyes darted around for the perpetrator in nervousness, only for them to settle on the surprised-looking Deadly Nadder in front of him.

He let out a sigh of aggravation. **"Don't scare me like that. You know I don't like it when you sneak up on me."**

**"Oh, Hiccup."** giggled the female Deadly Nadder. **"Remember what I told you? The female in a relationship is ALWAYS the domin-"**

**"OKAY! OKAY!"** cried the boy, lowering his ears and clenching his eyes to force the thoughts out of his head. **"I really don't want to hear any of that! And besides, we're not in a relationship!"**

**"Are you sure?"** asked the Nadder in a seductive-sounding way, turning her body to the side and shaking her tail in front of Hiccup's nose. The Night Fury blushed immensely, knowing that this usually was a sign of affection between dragons. The only thing was, this action typically only occurred during the season of spring. He only knew this because his former Viking friend Fishlegs had been VERY informative about that area of dragons. It disturbed him that his old friend had little regard for privacy among dragons just for the sake of learning things, to the point where he even attempted to sneak into the dragon arena to watch a mating session. He still couldn't shake the memory out of his head.

* * *

_"Come on Hiccup, I don't want to be alone in this!" whined Fishlegs, standing outside of the forge that Hiccup was working in. The sun was about to set, and the big-boned Viking was asking the chief's son for the twentieth time today._

_"NO Fishlegs! I don't wanna learn anything about how dragons...'get together.' I don't even know why YOU want to know!" said Hiccup in an exasperated tone, pounding harder on the sword he was attempting to fix. It was the last weapon, and it should have been done earlier. Unfortunately, Fishlegs would not stop asking Hiccup his request._

_The fat, young Viking sagged a little at Hiccup's response, disappointed that his friend couldn't see what a great opportunity it was to see this._

_"Hiccup, please! It won't even be for very long! You're the only one besides Gobber who knows how to open the lock to the dragon arena! And I know for a fact that there are two Terrible Terrors, both different genders!" The look on Fishlegs's face when he said this was one of manic curiosity, and it scared Hiccup just how desperate he was to view this._

_"Why do you even want to see this Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked, pausing in his work and setting the hammer down. He placed the sword on the wall rack. "We're Vikings. It's our job to kill dragons, not watch them...ugh...mate."_

_"Because it would be SO COOL!" Fishlegs almost yelled in excitement, a giddy expression on his face. Hiccup wrinkled his nose at this, disturbed at how his friend could possibly find any of this, in his words, 'cool.'_

_"I'd check it out, and then I would add it to the book of dragons we have. I mean, we need to know all we can about our enemy when they attack us right?" Fishlegs inquired._

_Hiccup curled his lip in disgust. "How could knowing when they *cough, cough* mate possibly help us when they attack?"_

_"Well..." Fishlegs began, putting his hand to his chin and closing one eye in thought. "We could put our livestock and sheep indoors at around the same time as spring while they're off doing their business at wherever they go. Then we would always be one step ahead of them during this time!"_

_Hiccup frowned. "But Fishlegs, we only have 'this time' for three months every year! The rest would be our other nine months of winter." The last part came out more as a grumble from Hiccup. "So even then, it would only help for a short time!"_

_"But it would be helpful nonetheless!" Fishlegs almost yelled, desperate to make Hiccup see his side of the argument, "I mean, you and I both know we're... not fighters." He said sadly, wincing slightly because admitting that was surprisingly difficult. Hiccup shoulders sagged and his expression became distant and melancholy._

_"Your constantly making these inventions to help yourself fight, but I just want to help the village by providing information that could be valuable." Fishlegs admitted, twiddling his fingers together. "If you help me, maybe we can both do something good for Berk." He finished._

_Hiccup sighed, running his hands through his hair and keeping them there. "That was low." He mumbled to himself. For a few moments, neither him nor Fishlegs said or did anything, just sitting down and processing what had been said._

_"Alright Fishlegs...I'll help you." Hiccup reluctantly told the smart Viking. The look on Fishleg's face became one of barely-concealed glee._

_"BUT," Hiccup exclaimed suddenly, holding up a hand before Fishlegs could say anything. "you and I are going to keep this between each other, and even then, once we're done, you will not speak a word of what you," Hiccup paused, shuddering a bit in disgust, "learn."_

_Fishlegs nodded, a large grin plastered on his face. "Okay!" He said. "I'll see you tonight, Hiccup!" With that, the boy turned and walked away, a little spring in his step._

_Hiccup groaned. "Please Odin, don't let us get caught." He prayed._

_That night was followed by the entire dragon arena being filled with activity. Primarily, of two teenage boys trying to sneak into the place and screaming their heads off once Hiccup had accidentally freed ALL the dragons. Stoic had been furious with both of them, and the two spent the rest of their free time for the next few months trying to get the arena cleaned of all the damage from the dragons' fire blasts. And to make matters worse, Fishlegs just kept talking about what he had been able to see before everything had gone to chaos._

_In retrospect, It probably wouldn't have gone so badly if Fishlegs hadn't requested that Hiccup open the cage door to get a closer look._

* * *

**"Hiccup? Yoo-hoo! Are you there?"** The Nadder asked playfully, yet confused as to why the Night Fury had been standing there with a glazed look on his face for the past five minutes. She continued trying to get his attention, then as a last resort, stuck out her tongue and licked Hiccup right on the front of his snout, in a dragon's version of a kiss.

**"WHAH!"**

This instantly snapped the teen dragon out of his old memories, as the warm, rough texture of her tongue shocked him.

**"Oh, I'm sorry Hiccup."** said the Nadder, sounding more smug than sorry. **"I'm afraid you were busy thinking about our future together?"**

The Night Fury would have visibly blanched at this had it not been for his black scales. He shook his had so fast that it hurt his neck. **"NO! We're not in a relationship!"** He yelled exasperatedly.

**"Are you suuuuuuuuuuuuuuure?"** The female Nadder droned out while flicking her eyes at him, putting her legs out to show off as much of her body as she could. This gesture wasn't exactly subtle, and the whole act made Hiccup's face heat up in embarrassment.

**"I'm sure! I'm sure!"** Hiccup cried, clenching his eyes shut. He snorted several times, then sighed and sat back on his haunches. The female Deadly Nadder, on the other hand, laughed hard and collapsed on her side at his reaction. She continued on like this until she was close to tears, then she pulled herself together and chuckled a few times before taking a deep breath. All the while, Hiccup just gave her a half-lidded glare. She rolled her eyes at him before looking away.

**"Oh alright, Hiccup. I'll stop. But remember: I'm always available for you."** she cooed. Giggling, the Nadder turned to the exit and walked over to it, then her head perked up suddenly and turned over her shoulder.

**"Oh yeah, one more thing! That little Night Fury that was next to you is playing with the other hatchlings. I sent him over with them to the beach once I came and saw he was awake while you were still asleep. Seemed very concerned about you for some reason when I asked."** she commented. **"Oh well, just hatchlings being hatchlings, right Hiccup?"**

Without waiting for a reply, the Nadder wiggled her rump and leapt off the cave ledge, flying away to her place. She didn't notice how Hiccup had stiffened and was in the dragon equivalent of a cold sweat.

* * *

**"Hey, me thought he was it!"**

**"No, she was!"**

**"Don't you remember the rules that my brother said? When you touch one person in-game of tag, you make them it!"**

**"Well, me touch her first!"**

**"No, you didn't!"**

**"Did too!"**

**"Nuh uh!"**

**"Did too!"**

**"Nuh uh!"**

**"DID TOO!"**

This was what could be heard as the Night Fury hatchling complained with the five other hatchlings. Each one was the smaller counterpart to the dragons that lived on the island. However, despite this, the Night Fury hatchling was the only baby of his kind that lived on the island. Most hatchlings played in groups on separate beaches of the island when the adults were busy or wanted some alone time.

However, the Night Fury couple had made a decree that each group should consist of one of each dragon, to encourage equality among the different species. It was mostly to prevent each species forming their own gang and causing tensions to rise from one group seeing another as inferior. It worked for the most part, but occasionally there would be a little squabble among the hatchling. Fortunately most of it was over petty things, and rarely ever required intervention from the grown adults.

**"Did too!"**

**"Nuh uh!"**

**"Did too!"**

**"Nuh uh!"**

**"Uuuuuuuuuuh, kids?"**

**"Nuh-wha?"**

All the hatchlings turned their heads towards Hiccup, who shifted awkwardly from all the attention. The younger Night Fury, upon seeing his 'brother," squealed with joy and leapt up onto the older Night Fury's chest. He clung to the body while talking real fast about the games they were playing, never noticing how Hiccup winced from his touch and was now smiling nervously at the other kids.

**"Yaaay! An elder's here! Now he can decide who was it and that me am right!"** cried the Gronkle hatchling which had argued with the Night Fury hatchling for the past ten minutes. The other young ones had simply been lounging about lazily, waiting for them to end their argument so they could get on with playing.

**"Hey!"** exclaimed the Night Fury hatchling indignantly. He dropped from Hiccup's body (making the older dragon sigh with relief) and began another round of arguing with the Gronkle. The teenage dragon looked on, his face becoming pained as he realized that what he was about to do would change everything.

**"Excuse me kids,"** Hiccup began, making himself look as formal as possible by standing up on his hind legs. The other hatchlings, except for the little Night Fury, bowed in respect. The former Viking would have chuckled in giddiness if not for the seriousness of what he was going to do. **"Would you mind if I took my young sibling for a minute? I need to have a few words with him."**

All the hatchlings nodded in unison, while the youngest Night Fury squealed with delight and ran up to his older adopted brother and leapt up to the top of Hiccup's head again. The Viking tried to smile, but it only came out as a pained grimace.

**"I'll see you children later."** He said. Turning around, the hatchlings just went back to playing their game, while the Night Fury baby simply squealed with delight as he clung to Hiccup's head.

**"So big brother, where we going?"** the hatchling asked curiously.

Hiccup paused for a minute, considering how he should answer. **"Me and you are gonna sit and have a talk."** He decided to say. It wasn't far from the truth, but it was less detailed.

**"Oh!"** piped the hatchling.** "Is this about where baby dragons come from? Because my parents already told me about that. You don't have to worry."**

Hiccup stopped walking. A look of shock and disgust appeared on his face just before he turned his head to look at the hatchling on his back.

**"WHAT?!"** He yelled.

The hatchling jumped at the unexpected shout from his brother.

**"You mean to tell me that your parents think that it's okay to tell children about THAT at your age?!"** Hiccup asked, his tone and face both disgusted at this information.

**"Yup!"** replied the hatchling enthusiastically, smile wide and eyes showing joy. **"It's a natural and beautiful thing, they say."**

Hiccup raised a brow. Then shook his head and snorted. **"Never mind. We have to talk about something important."**

**"Come on, brother Hiccup! What is it?"**

The teen flared out his wings.** "We'll talk about that when we get to our cave. Hold tight!"**

The hatchling tightened his grip around his brother, then let out a long **'Wheeeeeeeeee!'** as Hiccup sprang into the air. The older dragon smiled a bit a this, but it instantly became a grimace when he remembered what they had to talk about.

**"This won't end well."** The former Viking thought grimly.


End file.
